Post-Katrina Government Blunders Fail to Dampen Spirits
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One year past the bedlam of Hurricane Katrina, efforts are still being made to recover what was lost. While government agencies plan reconstruction efforts, many citizens are taking the renewal of their lives into their own hands. Mercy Corps has been documenting such individual efforts to rebuild life in the region.
Among them, Ken Williams, who's helping his community by jump starting creative arts activities, working to heal emotional wounds of those displaced by the disaster. Aiming to preserve the region's musical and cultural heritage, Williams has organized free concerts, sponsored music classes, and developed youth programs in the arts. His efforts can be described as those for which government intervention could simply not account. The reconstruction still requires government support, however, and some organizations claim that the U.S. has continually blundered in doing so, magnifying socioeconomic disparities in the process. Oxfam has released a new report entitled "Forgotten Communities, Unmet Promises: An Unfolding Tragedy on the Gulf Coast," in which the agency documents the "lack of political will, the bureaucratic bungling, and the poor policy decisions" that have brought a housing crisis to the region. The agency notes that, despite almost $17 billion that Congress has approved to rebuild homes and communities in Louisiana and Mississippi, there will be a dearth of affordable rental housing under current plans. Adding to the mismanagement, not a single house in either state has been rebuilt with the allocated funds. The group is calling for widespread reform of disaster housing assistance, among other measures. "Poor communities have been pushed aside, pushed down, and pushed out," said Minor Sinclair, director of Oxfam America's grant-making program in the U.S. "The rental crisis, for which there are a range of available solutions, is just one example of the gross inequities now playing out in this recovery." The inequalities made rampant by government policy extend beyond housing, as Civilrights.org notes that small businesses and employees are also being affected by economic disparity. More than 81,000 businesses were impacted by the storm and nearly 450,000 jobs were lost. But not all is lost, and stories like Ken Willliams' demonstrate the hope that still springs throughout the region. While mismanagement and poor government policy weigh down efforts, individual and non-profit contributions are attempting to counterbalance such obstacles. They hope, with time, that New Orleans and the other affected regions will be, "better. I can't tell you what better is gonna look like, but I know it's gonna be better," Williams says. --------------------------------- For more on global disaster preparedness and response efforts, check out Perspectives Magazine's ''Dealing with Disasters'' edition. |
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