Thread: English skill level lags in L.A.

English skill level lags in L.A.

By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 09/29/2008 09:51:55 PM PDT


With nearly one in three Los Angeles County residents unable to fully read and understand English, the region must do more to prepare immigrant communities for catastrophes, city leaders said Monday at the close of Emergency Preparedness Month.

Too often, disaster preparedness officials and nonprofits rely on English-language materials and training to get residents ready for an emergency. Some agencies are increasingly translating materials into Spanish, but there are hundreds of other languages spoken in L.A.

"Natural disasters and other tragedies strike without concern for language abilities," said Councilman Jose Huizar, who has asked for the city to report on ways to improve emergency preparedness outreach to immigrant communities.

"An inability to communicate with limited-English-speaking residents during a major catastrophe can severely impact public safety for all Angelenos."

But officials need to do more than translate brochures into multiple languages, according to a study released in June on disaster preparedness in urban immigrant communities by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute and Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California.

Los Angeles must work more closely with immigrant-community groups and ethnic media to promote emergency preparedness, including what to do in an earthquake and how to put together an emergency kit. Also, simulations that test emergency response need to include exercises on
how to deal with non-English speakers.
Anna Day Burton, assistant general manager of the city's Emergency Management Department, said her agency works with consulates to translate and disseminate information.

But with only six staffers handling outreach for the entire city, she said, the department struggles to get into immigrant communities to address potential cultural differences or concerns.

For example, Burton said, after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, the city learned that some residents avoided the American Red Cross because they thought it was a government agency.

"People didn't seek help from nonprofits for fear of being deported," Burton said.

Advocates hope a bill signed last week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will ease those concerns and promote better emergency-preparedness coordination between agencies and immigrant communities.

The new law prohibits government personnel from asking for documentation when providing services after an emergency.

"We saw in (Hurricane) Katrina and the fires in Southern California that some folks were being turned away because they lacked appropriate documentation," said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, director of education with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

kerry.cavanaugh@dailynews.com 213-978-0390


http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_10595193

Please......do whatever you have to do make sure they never have to learn English either. Even when they were told what to do and where to go in their language, they didn't do it anyway. With over 100 different languages spoken the catastrophe would be over before the time it took to give the warning in 100 different languages and then forever to explain what to do. That's why we have 1 common language.