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Cataclysmic
Katrina
“and the horrendous response by the US Government”
By M. Quinn
A cataclysmic event of epic proportions hit
the Gulf Coast regions of the United States on Monday August 29,
2005 and displaced hundreds of thousands of Americans in
Louisiana and Mississippi while leaving the people of that area
scattering for their very lives, and scavenging for food days
after the devastation.
Meteorological experts have stated that this
catastrophic event called hurricane Katrina was the worst
natural disaster to hit the shores of America in its more than
two hundred year history. Floodwaters swelled to twenty feet in
many areas. The effects from Katrina traverse a distance of more
than two states, and have killed thousands of people.
Within 24 hours of Katrina’s devastating
wrath emergency federal relief efforts had not been dispatched
to the affected areas, which prompted Mayor Ray Nagin of New
Orleans to make a desperate televised appeal to the United
States government for immediate assistance as stranded,
displace, hungry and frustrated people began to gather by the
thousands in Downtown New Orleans.
Some 48-72 hours later, emergency relief in
the form of adequate food, water, toiletries, and other
essentials had not been disbursed by FEMA, and by Friday morning
some four days later, countless people still remain strained at
the New Orleans Convention Center with no electricity, no
security, and apparently no assistance in sight.
The enormity of this devastation left
innumerable people on the streets, and destitute without basic
necessities as clean water, food, and shelter for at least three
to four days during this monumental disaster.
| The response time by the Federal
Government for this devastating human tragedy was
utterly inexcusable as mostly Black grandmothers, Black
grandfathers, Black sons, daughters and babies died by
the hundreds, as the United States government refused to
send in the critically needed supplies and security via
the National Guard, which resulted in countless people
living in areas surrounded by sewage, human waste, and
dying bodies decomposing on a daily a basis. |
 |
Too make bad matters worse, the media began
using the phraseology refugees to describe thousands of
displaced Americans. Even though the word refugee is defined as
People who leave their homes—and often their
countries—because of war, famine, or natural disasters (i.e.,
flood, hurricane, drought), and live for a long time in
makeshift communities that lack basic sanitation, such as
running water and toilets. These are American citizens, and at
the very least deserve to be addressed as such, considering that
their very lives were turned upside down by this cataclysmic
event.
Many citizens of the Gulf Coast region were
found drown in their own homes by the flooding waters. Media
reports indicated that at the New Orleans Super Dome, which
housed mostly African Americans that were displaced by this
horrific event – that there were likewise countless corpses
decomposing in the corners of the stadium; while State and
Federal Officials left them there for days as disease increased
due to these human carcasses scattered about. In essence,
American citizens were left to live like animals for days at a
time, with the federal government being non-existent in a
critically needed response.
Some of the repeated excuses being echoed
across the media were claims that areas such as New Orleans were
to hostile, or uncontrolled to enter and dispense aide.
However, America has recently embarked upon a
three hundred billion dollar experiment in Iraq at the courtesy
of American taxpaying citizens to invade a country with a
situation extremely more hostile than any American city. In
essence, the lack of response to this national cataclysmic event
was nothing short of America’s blatant fear of going into
Black neighborhoods without substantial firepower, be it police
or military. In addition, to the blatant disregard for the lives
of those who suffered, and died.
Within two days after the devastating Tsunami
in Southeast Asia, food, water and vital relief efforts were
delivered and disbursed to the people of that region. The
question that remains is; Why such a slow and downright absent
response for the poverty-stricken people of New Orleans, Could
it be because a disproportionate amount of them are Black?
As I continued to watch this outpour of human
anguish with apparently no Federal aide or assistance in sight,
CNN Anchor, Jack Cafferty spoke the very words that my mind
produced as he uttered them. He stated, that most of the media
were doing their best to ignore the fact that a great percentage
(probably 98%) of those left in this extremely perilous position
are Black folks.
This overwhelming event in human suffering
coupled with the brazen disregard for human life by the Federal
Government, categorically conveys the hearts and minds of those
in charge within the United States, and what their true feelings
are toward the poverty stricken, and disenfranchised African
Americans nation wide.
In fact, it was not until Friday, September
02, 2005 some four days after the fact that President George W.
Bush decided to visit the devastated area. As a Commander Chief
of a sovereign nation, President Bush should have flown to the
devastated area within 24 hours of this horrific event to
reflect his commitment to the citizens of his own nation, and
immediately announced a plan of execution along with FEMA
coupled with state and federal officials.
President Bush has repeatedly masked over a
tremendous amount of blunders and down right lies while in
office. However, as
citizens of this nation, it is imperative that we hold him and
his Administration accountable for this egregious failure in
response for the very lives of those who died. How many times
does the trumpet of injustice have to sound before we band
together, and emphatically state, “Never Again”!
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M. QUINN is a San Francisco Bay Area freelance
writer specializing in historical and political analysis and
commentary. twentyfirstcentury_writer@yahoo.com
posted 4 September 2005 |
