Thread: La Raza finds Hurricane Katrina a "disaster" for L

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...e13salina.html


MARIA ELENA SALINAS
Latinos fared worse after Katrina

March 13, 2006

We didn't need another report to tell us there was negligence and mismanagement in the federal government's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but we got it anyway. We didn't need a video showing us that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and President Bush had been briefed ahead of time about the eminent threat Katrina posed to New Orleans – it was obvious from the start. What we had not seen until now is to what extent Latinos were unfairly treated before and after the devastating hurricane hit the Gulf Coast.

It took an organization like the National Council of La Raza to get a clear picture of how the Latino community had suffered more than was initially reported. Representatives from FEMA and the Red Cross said over and over that all hurricane victims would receive emergency assistance, regardless of their immigration status. What NCLR found in its recent study was quite a different story.

“The disaster response – both public and private – was a disaster for Latinos and other communities of color,” said Janet Murguia, NCLR president and CEO. She went on to say that the response of the two entities most responsible for disaster relief – the federal government and the American Red Cross – was “a failure on every level for Latinos.”

The number of Latinos in the affected area was more than double the amount originally thought. About 230,000 Hispanics lived in the Gulf states when Katrina hit. Yet, no warnings to evacuate were given in any language other than English. As a consequence, several non-English-speaking casino workers in Mississippi lost their lives.

When it came time to provide shelter and housing, many Latino legal residents reported that they were turned away under the assumption they were undocumented immigrants, while those who actually were undocumented were started on deportation proceedings.

In its report “In the Eye of the Storm: How the Government and Private Response to Hurricane Katrina Failed Latinos,” NCLR criticizes the Department of Homeland Security for not suspending immigration-enforcement laws to allow disaster victims to receive basic emergency aid such as food and water. It also blasts the Department of Labor for not enforcing labor laws, thus contributing to the exploitation of workers.

Hundreds of workers hired for the cleanup of the affected areas complained they had not been paid what was promised to them – some weren't paid at all. For at least 106 of those workers, justice came at the end of February when a subcontractor working for KBR – a subsidiary of Halliburton – was forced to pay the workers a total of $141,887 in back wages.

The individual compensation checks ranged from $400 to $2,800. But it was a symbolic victory for them. The workers had been promised $13 an hour, plus food and housing. Instead, they got $7 an hour, inadequate housing and very little food. When they complained to the contractor, the owner threatened to report them to immigration officials.

NCLR's report also condemns the American Red Cross for failing to serve the Latino community, citing bureaucratic barriers that led to delays in assisting Latino victims. The Red Cross, asserts the report, did not work with disaster-area Latino organizations that had offered to help the community.

Both the federal government and the disaster-relief agency were criticized for the lack of diversity on their staffs. The Red Cross has only a 2 percent Hispanic makeup on its board of governors. “The Red Cross should look more like America,” NCLR's Murguia said.

She stopped short of calling for a boycott of the disaster-relief agency. “I can't in good conscience ask people to support the Red Cross at this point, after what we've seen and what we've learned. And I would want to see some very concrete steps, plans of how the Red Cross will respond to the Hispanic community in the future, before I would encourage anyone to donate to the Red Cross again,” the NCLR leader said at a news conference in Washington.

The conclusion of the report is a well-known fact: Three months before the start of the hurricane season, the federal government and the American Red Cross are unprepared to address the needs of Latinos – or any other community, for that matter.

About 230,000 Hispanics lived in the Gulf states when Katrina hit. Yet, no warnings to evacuate were given in any language other than English.

Nor should there have been warnings in Spanish. And if there had been, what would the Italians, the Poles, the Germans, the VietNamese, the Swahilis, the French and even the Cajuns have felt like? Would all those other groups be whining now? No it is always, always, always, LaRaza and the Hispanics. If these people were NOT illegal aliens then the media had every reasonable right to expect them to speak English. Get real!

Give me a break! With all those Spanish tv stations, they didn't know a hurricane was coming...they didn't know what to do? Seems like most people in N.O., didn't know to get out of harms way....hello..common sense....

Has anyone seen FEMA or anyone else helping the tornado victims yesterday or today? NO...they are helping each other.

As for their getting paid or not, that goes for white's too. In my area, two heavy eq. companies returned here, because they didn't get paid either.

OH, and those people were legal....

I'd like to see a politically incorrect poll on what race whines and cries more than the others.....

I'd like to see a politically incorrect poll on what race whines and cries more than the others

Good One, Moose

I'd like to see a politically incorrect poll on what race whines and cries more than the others

Good One, Moose

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I didn't have time to parse this out earlier.

“The disaster response – both public and private – was a disaster for Latinos and other communities of color,” said Janet Murguia, NCLR president and CEO.

I love how she tries to lump in "other communities of color" in their report. They don't care about "other communities of color" whatsoever. And furthermore, the response to Hurricane Katrina was a horrible failure of government at all levels and the poor generally suffered the worst of it--that's all poor in that region be they white, black or other. The poor suffered disproportionately, and from what I've heard and seen, a large percentage of the illegal immigrants in this country are poor. No one has singled out hispanics for mistreatment in the aftermath. Come on La Raza! Get real!

The number of Latinos in the affected area was more than double the amount originally thought. About 230,000 Hispanics lived in the Gulf states when Katrina hit.

Gee, do you figure that the number of Latinos might have been underestimated because a large proportion were ILLEGAL??

Yet, no warnings to evacuate were given in any language other than English. As a consequence, several non-English-speaking casino workers in Mississippi lost their lives.

Did they not notice everyone else getting the heck out of there? Why would we give evacuation notices in anything other than English? In Mississippi?

When it came time to provide shelter and housing, many Latino legal residents reported that they were turned away under the assumption they were undocumented immigrants, while those who actually were undocumented were started on deportation proceedings

As to any legal residents of any color, national origin, etc. turned away from shelter, my heart goes out to them. That is a shame, and I hope we as a country can learn a lot from everything that happened. As to those who are getting deported, sounds about right to me.

In its report “In the Eye of the Storm: How the Government and Private Response to Hurricane Katrina Failed Latinos,” NCLR criticizes the Department of Homeland Security for not suspending immigration-enforcement laws to allow disaster victims to receive basic emergency aid such as food and water. It also blasts the Department of Labor for not enforcing labor laws, thus contributing to the exploitation of workers.

Ok, so let me get this straight. La Raza in its infinite wisdom gets to determine which laws are enforced and which are not. The ones that result in illegals being caught, deported, etc. should have been set aside for humanity's sake, but how dare the federal government not do everything in its power to protect these ILLEGALS from exploitation! For what it's worth I haven't heard of any massive roundups of illegals resulting from Hurricane Katrina--even when they showed up by the truckload in the weeks following the events.

The workers had been promised $13 an hour, plus food and housing. Instead, they got $7 an hour, inadequate housing and very little food. When they complained to the contractor, the owner threatened to report them to immigration officials.

I don't think there was a lot of "adequate housing" available for relief workers and cleanup crews, given the total annihilation of great swaths of the region. Again, La Raza with their whining... "oh it's always the poor Latino that suffers the most..."

NCLR's report also condemns the American Red Cross for failing to serve the Latino community, citing bureaucratic barriers that led to delays in assisting Latino victims.

I'm sure everyone in the affected area has a story to tell about the "bureaucratic barriers" that delayed relief, recovery, rebuilding, etc. It wasn't just the hispanics or the illegals. Moreover, part of the bureaucratic difficulty encountered may have been that English thing again. First we don't tell them to get out in every possible language out there. Then we don't send in an army of translators with spanish forms for them. Geesh!

Both the federal government and the disaster-relief agency were criticized for the lack of diversity on their staffs. The Red Cross has only a 2 percent Hispanic makeup on its board of governors. “The Red Cross should look more like America,” NCLR's Murguia said.

Huh? And with the population explosion of illegals predominately from hispanic speaking countries, should the Red Cross do a national survey every other month to make sure it has appropriate (again, appropriate is whatever La Raza says it is) numbers of Latinos?

She stopped short of calling for a boycott of the disaster-relief agency. “I can't in good conscience ask people to support the Red Cross at this point, after what we've seen and what we've learned. And I would want to see some very concrete steps, plans of how the Red Cross will respond to the Hispanic community in the future, before I would encourage anyone to donate to the Red Cross again,” the NCLR leader said at a news conference in Washington.

Seems to me that the American Red Cross has sent people, supplies, money, etc. when Mexico, Central America and South America have had natural disasters in the past. Since they see fit to withhold funding from Red Cross, maybe Red Cross should do the same when a disaster hits a hispanic country. Of course we all know the Red Cross won't because it is an organization dedicated to helping those in need, regardless of color, ethnicity, etc. LaRaza sees only race and racism, no matter what it placed before them.

Quote:
In its report “In the Eye of the Storm: How the Government and Private Response to Hurricane Katrina Failed Latinos,” NCLR criticizes the Department of Homeland Security for not suspending immigration-enforcement laws to allow disaster victims to receive basic emergency aid such as food and water. It also blasts the Department of Labor for not enforcing labor laws, thus contributing to the exploitation of workers.
__________________________________________________ __________
I dont care what the NCLR thinks. If they were so concerned, why didnt they do something about 'their' people.
Illegals shouldnt be in our country in the first place. So I guess Homeland Security cant take the blame for their situation.

The disaster response – both public and private – was a disaster for Latinos and other communities of color,” said Janet Murguia, NCLR president and CEO.


I love how she tries to lump in "other communities of color" in their report. They don't care about "other communities of color" whatsoever. And furthermore, the response to Hurricane Katrina was a horrible failure of government at all levels and the poor generally suffered the worst of it--that's all poor in that region be they white, black or other. The poor suffered disproportionately, and from what I've heard and seen, a large percentage of the illegal immigrants in this country are poor. No one has singled out hispanics for mistreatment in the aftermath. Come on La Raza! Get real!

Yeah, and I like that word "Other" people of color. Not so long ago, the hispanic community insisted they were white. How quickly times change when it means being first in line for a hand out.

I dont care what the NCLR thinks. If they were so concerned, why didnt they do something about 'their' people.
Illegals shouldnt be in our country in the first place. So I guess Homeland Security cant take the blame for their situation.

Actually, if Homeland Security were doing their job, these people wouldn't BE in this country. As for NCLR taking care of their own, they are--the same way they always do-- get the people to donate to their coffers so they can send "whiners" on their behalf.