Importing Error

I was successful in uploading and installing wordpress v2.1.1.

When I tried to import my old xml files from wordpress, the control panel gave me this:

Import WordPress
Sorry, there has been an error.

Unable to create directory /home/atheista/public_html/wp-content/uploads/2007/02. Is its parent directory writable by the server?

Please help. I’ve literally struggled through this all night long and I just want to get this over with. thanks a lot in advance.