Then and Now: New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

PEOPLE.com revisits the city – and its determined residents – four years after the devastating storm

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ALL IN THE FAMILY

With the help of his extended family, wife Reem (not pictured) and his children – (from left) Hadi, 4, Hadeel, 11, Mohammad, 9, and Mahdi, 5 – Salem cleaned up and began rebuilding only a month after the storm. By Nov. 15, American Fashions was open in time for the Mardi Gras season, though business to this day hasn't bounced back entirely, he tells PEOPLE. "I look around and I'd say New Orleans is only back about 20 percent," he says. "We need everyone back."