Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Katrina VS. The Fires




Katrina was among one of the biggest disasters in the U.S. However, people were left to die and suffer without the help of our government. A government, which is supposed to serve as a shield during the worst situations. Where were they when Katrina ferociously struck New Orleans and claimed the lives of so many people? Katrina left a permanent scar New Orleans and its people.
FEMA cannot claim that they did not know about it, because numerous reports state the there were signs, unmistakable signs.
With all the respect to those who lost their homes in the California fires but I cant help but wonder what happened during Katrina that did happen in California? How come FEMA responded so quickly and in such a different manner to the situation in California? From day spas to hotel rooms and even messages in the stadium, fire victims did not have to endure half of the atrocities that Katrina victims faced. The picture on the very to is of Katrina victims in the superdome, no beds, no blankets. The image bellow is of the Stadium which the fire victims used for shelter.
So what did happen? Was an act of racism or plain disregard for those who do not have the economic resources?
I am not trying to play the race card, but it is impossible not to think this way. Also, I am not saying there was only, wrong doing to the African American community, because there were a lot white families who were affected by the disaster. However, most of the people who were affected by this were those in the African American community who are considered of low socio-economic standing.
Though there are many accounts by California residents that FEMA’s response was not the greatest and that it could’ve been better, the reality is that if they were to truly look back and see the kind of situation in which many of the Katrina victims had to go through there will be no complaining.
They weren’t stuck in a Superdome where little babies slept next to convicts armed with weapons. These people were forced to live amongst waste, with no food and water for days. If this does not look like an act of negligence, then what does?
I do not want to seem like an irrational, over sensitive minority, but when things like this occur it only makes you think how sad it is, that situations like these occur in a country like ours. Here we are in the middle of an unjust war, where billion and billions of our tax dollars are being spent and our government agencies cannot plan a decent rescue effort.


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