the poorest 20% of

[Newdem@aol.com]

This is the horrifying reality of a society built on inequality.
 

Dave  Stratman
Editor, New Democracy
_newdemocracyworld.org_ (http://www.newdemocracyworld.org/) 
20 Moraine  Street
Boston, MA 02130
617-524-4073
**************************
In a message dated 8/31/05 1:11:22 PM, kwald@california.com  writes:


> [see addendum at end -- Tom Condit]
> 
> The  horrors that are happening to New Orleans now could have been avoided.
>  Alternatively, they are what would happen in Cuba every hurricane season  
if
> the government didn't put people's lives as the top priority, and  plan for
> their welfare, evacuation, refuge, food, clean-up, rebuilding,  etc.
> 
> From Nelson Valdes' listserv. TR
>  _____________________________________________________________________
>  
> below is an e-mail by a rescue worker that was forwarded to me. i'm  leery
> of forwarding unattributed material because wild tales spread via  internet,
> but this comes from a good source. NV
> 
>  -----------------------------------------
> 
> i have refrained from  any political commentary thus far, but i will say
> this, re the  penultimate paragraph:
> 
> the poorest 20% (you can argue with the  number -- 10%? 18%? no one knows)
> of the city was left behind to drown.  period. and this was the plan.
> 
> forget the sanctimonious  bullshit about the bullheaded people who wouldn't
> leave. the evacuation  plan was strictly laissez-faire. it depended on
> privately owned  vehicles, and on having ready cash to fund an evacuation.
> the planners  knew full well that the poor, who in new orleans are
> overwhelmingly  black, wouldn't be able to get out. the resources --
> meaning, the  political will -- weren't there to get them out.
> 
> white per  capita income in orleans parish, 2000 census: $31,971
> black per capita:  $11,332
> 
> median *household* income in B.W. Cooper (Calliope)  Housing Projects, 2000:
> $13,263.
> 
> and now here's the  rescue worker, whose name i don't know:
> 
> * * *
> 
>  There are dead animals floating in the water, pets left behind. Surely
>  people thought they would be back to collect the pets. Not so. The  
rescuers
> smell like gas when they come back in; there's gas in all of  the water that
> consumes the area. Fires are burning all over the place.  Our teams are
> tired and they are thirsty and they are hungry. And they  have a place to
> sleep and water to drink and food to eat. I can only  imagine how the people
> without these "luxuries" are feeling right  now.
> 
> Each night will be a race against time. When night falls,  people can't get
> picked up from roofs, the rescuers can't chop into  people's roofs to check
> the attics for anyone alive or for anyone dead  (sadly, there are dead). At
> night we can't see power lines we can't see  obstacles, we can't see any of
> the things that will bring down a  helicopter or pose a danger to boats
> rescuers.
> 
> One of  the teams came in today after having been out for hours at a time.
> One  particular rescuer went straight to a corner and collapsed into tears.
> I  went directly to him and just held his hand. What else could I do? I  
said
> nothing. He said it all. They lowered him 26 times and he pulled 26  people
> to safety. He wants to be back out there but there are mandatory  rest
> periods. His tears are tears of frustration.
> 
>  Entire teams are working on nothing but evacuating the hospitals. All  four
> of the major hospitals are beginning to flood. Critical patients  have to
> get out or surely they will be lost. Generators cannot run  forever; that's
> just the way it is. There are limited facilities to take  those that are
> rescued and those that need to be evacuated. Anything  that leaves by air
> leaves by helicopter. There are no runways for planes  that aren't under
> water. Only one drivable way in and out.
>  
> Water everywhere and more keeps coming. Until they can do something  about
> the three levees that are broken, more water will come and more  water will
> kill. The water poses major health threats. Anyone with even  a small open
> cut is prone to infection. Anyone who touches this water  and touches his
> eyes, nose or mouth without find a way to "clean"  himself first will be
> sick with stomach problems before long. It's bad  and it's getting worse.
> It's not going to be anything better than  devastating for days or weeks at
> best.
> 
> I wish I could  tell you that I'll check in again soon. I can't. I don't
> know when my  next message will get out. We'll be leaving where we are
> within just an  hour or so.
> 
> [Addendum: Ben Roberts has forwarded two AP photos  with captions which tell
> it all. One is of a white couple who have  "found" food in a store. One is
> of a black man who has "looted" a  store.]
> 
> 
>