Rage in the aftermath of Katrina. JASS E.D.
"Lastly, I don't know if you've been following the news
of the hurricane and its aftermath. The images and scenario---
reminiscent of the US' humanitarian failures and subsequent excuses
in Liberia and Haiti -- vividly reveal both the deep inequality
and racism and the deliberate failure of this much-touted system
to provide a minimal safety net for all of its citizens, let alone
respond to predicted disasters -- and despite spending millions
of our tax dollars on reorganizing government in the name of 'preparedness'
and fighting terrorism. Homeland security? I'm not sure what is
more outrageous: the desperate throngs standing in line for buses
that fail to arrive and being forced to defecate on the street
corner like animals, or the dark cloud of racism that I see enveloping
the whole story. I'm enraged by the lack of response and the ever-distorted
priorities about "protection" by all the so-called authorities.
Like the shoot-to-kill orders for looters coming from the Governor.
Yesterday morning, even as masses of children, old people and
the sick waited for help, the police were told to shift their
focus from evacuation to the looters! Certainly, the violence
is inexcusable in any circumstance but what would you do if you
and your kids didn't have access to food, water or an ATM for
3 days? Some of the 'looters' are trying to get the food and water
that their government has failed to deliver, others are trying
to get gas to escape, the price of which is now reaching $5 gallon
in some places, and still others, are just bursting with rage
at a system that has always failed them and is now killing them
through a combination of neglect and ineptitude. Clearly, those
precious groceries and over-priced gas -- not to mention those
flat-screen TVs -- have more value than all those people who just
need help. How do i explain to my young son why nearly all the
people dying and stranded are black, and most of the people who
managed to make it to the Comfort Inn are white beside the obvious
fact that the latter had cars and plastic and the former nothing?
How do i explain why the 5 people screaming for help to a low-flying
rescue helicopter from the top of the building are waving an American
flag? Can i tell him -- an African-American 8 year old boy --
that black people are seen as -- at best, entertainment, most
of the time invisible, and, at worst, a nuisance in this country?
Can I tell him that this way of thinking runs so deep in the psyche
of our society that even those black people feel they have to
wave an American flag to prove to the helicopter pilot that --
despite their black faces -- they belong to this exclusive club
we call America and are worthy of rescue? "
Srilatha Batliwala, JASS Global Advisor from India responds:
Appropos your recent anguished message about the situation in
New Orleans, I
thought the comparison below would be of interest. What the comparison
barely touches on, of course, is the amount of solidarity and
mutual support
that Mumbai's citizens extended to each other during the floods.
People
took in and fed perfect strangers, gave people shelter and places
to sleep,
safe water for drinking. There were apartment buildings where
every inch of
open space - corridors and stairwells was given over to people
who were
stranded on the roads, unable to reach their homes and in need
of shelter.
Class divides also broke down - slumdwellers were allowed to
shelter in
middle class buildings; stranded middle class commuters took shelter
in slum
homes. In Tsunami-hit villages in India, poor families have simply
taken in
two or three orphans (often unrelated to them by blood) rather
than let them
become prey to the sex traders who swooped in ready to "rescue
" these
hapless children.
What happened in New Orleans doesn't just expose the results
of Iraq and the
disinvestment in public services by the government, and the resilient
nature
of racism, but the much more troubling and fundamental breakdown
of basic
human values in American society. The I, me, my culture that has
been
perniciously and consciously encouraged and bred over the past
fifty years
has finally manifested its true cost.
New Orleans vs. Mumbai
inches of rain in new orleans due to hurricane katrina... 18
inches of rain in mumbai (July 27th).... 37.1
population of new orleans... 484,674
population of mumbai.... 12,622,500
deaths in new orleans within 48 hours of katrina...100
deaths in mumbai within 48hours of rain.. 37.
number of people to be evacuated in new orleans... entire city..wohh
number of people evacuated in mumbai...10,000
Cases of shooting and violence in new orleans...Countless
Cases of shooting and violence in mumbai.. NONE
Time taken for US army to reach new orleans... 48hours
Time taken for Indian army and navy to reach mumbai...12hours
status 48hours later...new Orleans is still waiting for relief,
army
and electricity
status 48hours later. Mumbai is back on its feet and is business
is as
usual
USA...world's most developed nation
India...third world country..
THAT'S THE REASON INDIA IS NAMED AS ONE OF THE TOP COUNTRIES
IN
DISASTER RECOVERY AND HANDLING.
