Posted: Monday, March 13, 2006 12:00 am
We didn/t need another report to tell us that 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 7 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 suffered more than was originally reported. Representatives from FEMA and the Red Cross said over and over again 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 7 both public and private 7 was a disaster for Latinos and other communities of color,C said Janet Murguia, NCLR president and CEO. She went on to say that the response of the two entities most responsible for disaster relief 7 the federal government and the American Red Cross 7 was “a failure on every level for Latinos.C
The number of Latinos in the affected area was more than double the amount originally thought. Some 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 that 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,C NCLR criticizes the Department of Homeland Security for not suspending immigration-enforcement laws to allow disaster victims to receive basic emergency aid like 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 that they had not been paid what was promised to them 7 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 7 a subsidiary of Halliburton 7 was forced to pay the workers a total of ,141,887 in back wages.
Individually, they didn/t get that much. The 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 Latino organizations in the disaster area that offered to help serve the community in need.
Both the federal government and the disaster-relief agency were criticized for the lack of diversity in their staffs. The Red Cross has only a 2 percent Hispanic makeup in its board of governors.
“The Red Cross should look more like America,C NCLR/s Murguia said.
The head of NCLR 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,C she said at a press conference in Washington.
The conclusion of the report is a well-known fact: Three months before the start of hurricane season, the federal government and the American Red Cross are unprepared to address the needs of Latinos 7 or any other community, for that matter.
Maria Elena Salinas is anchor of “Noticiero Univision.C Visit her Web site at www.mariaesalinas.com to send comments.
March 13, 2006