Hurricane Katrina-The Human Catastrophe in Louisiana and Mississippi

 

The Human Catastrophe
in Louisiana and Mississippi

The human catastrophe and widespread devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi, and elsewhere, as a result of Hurricane Katrina, is eliciting the sympathy and action of people all over the country. The extent of the suffering is almost beyond imagination. Many people in the antiwar movement, in the South, and elsewhere are volunteering and showing other expressions of support for those in need. The possible outbreak of disease caused by sewage contamination of drinking water is just one of the myriad problems facing the population.

While the Pentagon is seeking to occupy the position of coordinator for the relief efforts, it is worth noting where the government, and the Pentagon specifically, has really distributed its resources. Large numbers of the National Guard from Louisiana and Mississippi have been sent to occupy Iraq, and are unable to help in the needed rescue operations. 6,000 members of the Louisiana and Mississippi National Guard are watching the catastrophe unfold from 7,000 miles away. 40 percent of Mississippi's National Guard force, and 35 percent of Louisiana's is in Iraq. Conditions are likely to worsen in the next few days as rainfall from the hurricane flows into Lake Pontchartrain. Due to collapsed levees, the water is expected to continue to increase in the city of New Orleans until it reaches the same level as the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.

It's impossible to ignore the class issues associated with this natural disaster. Before the hurricane struck, the government issued a mandatory evacuation order with a "free-market approach." In other words, people were ordered to leave, but the means for evacuation were not provided. More than 300,000 people in the New Orleans metropolitan area could not leave. Who were they? It is the working class and in particular, the African American community in the region that is enduring the worst of the storm. Governor Haley Barbour declared martial law, and announced that looters would be dealt with "ruthlessly." What are poor people stranded in New Orleans supposed to do - wait without food, clothing, or shelter until stores reopen? Again, the Bush administration is spending $200 million a day to occupy, bomb, and wreak havoc on Iraq. It is not only the National Guard members who are in Iraq, but much of the needed emergency equipment for natural disasters. Likewise, the war and occupation is imposing a human catastrophe on the Iraqi people that few in the United States can fathom, given that the big business media largely conceals the depth of suffering caused by U.S. government actions there.