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Six Months After Katrina, New Report Shows Poor Still Being Left Behind
On the six month anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we get a report from Oxfam America on the recovery of the Gulf States. Oxfam director says, “Despite critical reports and investigative hearings of government failures, despite the flurry of commitments to confront poverty in the U.S. - six months after Katrina, little has changed.”
Today is the six-month anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake. Nearly 2,000 people are reportedly still missing in Louisiana alone and more than 130 are children. And as this week’s Mardi Gras celebrations crowd the streets of New Orleans - at more than half the numbers as usual - whole neighborhoods remain obliterated.
Officials say hundreds of billions of dollars are still needed to meet long-term needs in rebuilding the Gulf region and aiding residents. The Washington Post reports that more than $2 billion has been dispensed to residents to pay for immediate needs, such as food, water, medical supplies and emergency housing, but that donations are dwindling.
New Orleans is scheduled to hold a primary election in April. A federal judge has ruled against a request for the state of Louisiana to create out-of-state satellite polling places for evacuees temporarily living outside of Louisiana.
And then there is the issue of housing. For those in more than 7,000 Louisiana and Mississippi hotels, FEMA last week extended the deadline for direct hotel payments to March 15. The expiration date is still March 1st for evacuees living in about 3,000 FEMA – sponsored hotel rooms outside the two states and emergency shelters on cruise ships.
A new report titled “Recovering States: the Gulf Coast Six Months after the Storm” has just been released by Oxfam America. It focuses on how poorer communities of both Louisiana and Mississippi are being overlooked and calls for more funds to be channeled into available housing for the lowest income communities. Oxfam America Director Minor Sinclair says, "Despite critical reports and investigative hearings of government failures, despite the flurry of commitments to confront poverty in the U.S. - six months after Katrina, little has changed.”
* Minor Sinclair, Director of U.S. regional programs for Oxfam America.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/28/1427246
Officials say hundreds of billions of dollars are still needed to meet long-term needs in rebuilding the Gulf region and aiding residents. The Washington Post reports that more than $2 billion has been dispensed to residents to pay for immediate needs, such as food, water, medical supplies and emergency housing, but that donations are dwindling.
New Orleans is scheduled to hold a primary election in April. A federal judge has ruled against a request for the state of Louisiana to create out-of-state satellite polling places for evacuees temporarily living outside of Louisiana.
And then there is the issue of housing. For those in more than 7,000 Louisiana and Mississippi hotels, FEMA last week extended the deadline for direct hotel payments to March 15. The expiration date is still March 1st for evacuees living in about 3,000 FEMA – sponsored hotel rooms outside the two states and emergency shelters on cruise ships.
A new report titled “Recovering States: the Gulf Coast Six Months after the Storm” has just been released by Oxfam America. It focuses on how poorer communities of both Louisiana and Mississippi are being overlooked and calls for more funds to be channeled into available housing for the lowest income communities. Oxfam America Director Minor Sinclair says, "Despite critical reports and investigative hearings of government failures, despite the flurry of commitments to confront poverty in the U.S. - six months after Katrina, little has changed.”
* Minor Sinclair, Director of U.S. regional programs for Oxfam America.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/28/1427246
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