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This article examines "chronic disaster syndrome," a situation that arises in the wake of a large-scale disaster that perpetuates the life in an emergency through government institutionalized and private-sector supported barriers. The article first looks at some of the physical and mental conditions that were created or exacerbated by the disaster. It then follows up with the government's betrayal of the people, first in providing support to the victims, and then actively barring victims from recovery. The article ends with the future in the wake of this disaster, including the "perpetuating of emergency" and continued institutions in place as a result of the hurricane. 

Adriana Petryna is a professor of anthropology at UC Berkeley. Her primary research area is on medical anthropology, social studies in science/technology, and eastern europe. 

The article is a report on an occurence where two EMTs witnessed four NYPD officers beat a patient on the stretcher. The author supports the story with quotes from the report written by the EMTs. 

"If we weigh “evidence” by the pound or the page, we risk moving toward a monoculture of C.B.T"

"Stories capture small pictures, too. I’m thinking of the anxious older man given Zoloft. That narrative has power"

"For a variety of reasons, including a heightened awareness of medical error and a focus on cost cutting, we have entered an era in which a narrow, demanding version of evidence­based medicine prevails"