Not Good Enough

Where we stayed in Christchurch, the first night of our holiday, had been Red Zoned the last time I'd visited.

We asked the taxi driver where we could get dinner in town. He paused and said, "Nowhere. It's all wasteland now."

Progress had been made on the Cathedral.

The sculpture was up in the square.

There were flowers on the fences.

The Avon was as beautiful as ever. 

"This is so much better," I said. 

Jesse looked at me funny. He'd never been to Christchurch before. "This is awful," he said, "the whole city is devastated, still."

There's been change, but not enough. It's pretty clear that we as a country have failed Christchurch, and we won't see real change until we see a change of government. We deserve better than this.