09948
November 3, 2009

A forgotten tragedy

More than four years later, Gulf Coast is yet to be rebuilt

by Leslie G. Woods
Presbyterian Washington Office
Reprinted from Washington Report to Presbyterians

WASHINGTON — August 2009 marked the fourth year since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Mississippi and Louisiana remain the two poorest states in the nation, despite the influx of millions of recovery dollars. And too few people are concerned with rebuilding the infrastructure of a once-great city: New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, resulting in the loss of more than 1,600 lives in Louisiana and Mississippi and more than $40 billion in property damage.

Hurricane Rita followed not more than a month behind, striking the Gulf Coast of Texas, inflicting billions more dollars in damage and at least 11 more deaths.

And more tragic than the reality of these figures was the utter breakdown of government at all levels to provide protection for its citizens in the midst of a deadly disaster.

In 2008, the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved “Struck Down, but not Destroyed: From Hurricane Katrina to a More Equitable Future.” The statement begins by “saluting the Christian commitment of volunteers,” commending the thousands of dedicated people who give of their time and resources to travel to the Gulf Coast and assist with rebuilding efforts.

According to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, through 2008 nearly 40,000 volunteers had helped to repair more than 3,500 homes in the Gulf Coast alone.

PDA is also responding to Hurricane Ike, which struck Texas in 2008. Though Ike is the third most destructive hurricane in U.S. history, it has been labeled the “forgotten storm,” for its timing during the Republican National Convention and the global economic meltdown.

PDA continues to respond not only in the Gulf Coast, but also in other parts of the U.S. affected by disasters. In 2009, more than 4,000 volunteers have sought shelter and meals at PDA’s volunteer villages in the Gulf Coast, Illinois, Iowa and West Virginia.

While the good work of PDA and Presbyterian volunteers continues to focus on bringing hope to situations of chaos, the massive project of community re-creation in New Orleans and the greater Gulf Coast cannot be completed by the goodwill of volunteers and charities alone.

The 2008 Assembly “called the nation to repentance regarding our society’s continuing failed responses by taking concrete, timely steps through policy formation and the appropriate marshaling of financial and human resources to transform New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region into a model of redevelopment with social and environmental justice.”

According to an article in The Economist, a quarter of New Orleans’ population has not returned after the natural disaster and ensuing human drama that dispersed the city’s residents all over the country. One-third of homes remain vacant, with flood lines and decaying porches still visible. Less than half of the city’s public transportation infrastructure has been restored.

Perhaps most disturbing of all, city residents’ access to medical care is abysmal. Only 57 percent of medical facilities have reopened, tens of thousands of medical records have been lost, medical practitioners are scarce, and Charity Hospital — which had been serving New Orleans’ poor and uninsured for 250 years — remains shuttered.

The “model of development with social and environmental justice” has yet to materialize for a city whose residents are just struggling to keep their heads above water. And yet, there is hope for this city and its wasteland of unrepaired homes and infrastructure.

In his address marking the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, President Barack Obama stated his administration’s commitment ot stand with victims of disaster. In particular, he said he “wants to ensure that the legacy of a terrible storm is a country that is safer and more prepared for the challenges that may come.”

He declared: “Our approach is simple: government must keep its responsibility to the people, so that Americans have the opportunity to take responsibility for their future.” The president also stated that recovery efforts have come at an unacceptably slow pace.

In response to the 218th General Assembly’s policy directions, the Presbyterian Washington Office supports the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act (HR 2269), which would create a pilot program to partner with resident-led groups and communities in planning, overseeing and administering recovery projects to assist survivors of these disasters.

It would provide communities with tools to build resilience against the impact of future disasters and climate change, while revitalizing the region economically and socially. The bill would create 100,000 prevailing-wage jobs and training opportunities for local and displaced workers on projects reinvesting in infrastructure and restoring the coastal environment.

The projects would utilize emerging green building techniques and technologies to address remaining recovery challenges, especially those faced by residents with disabilities, women, internally displaced, minority and immigrant communities.

Some of the bill’s proposals could become effective immediately through executive orders. Means for communicating with President Obama and members of Congress are available at online.

At the Episcopal General Convention this summer, the director of that denomination’s Office of Disaster Response connected disaster recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast to the New Testament parable of the good Samaritan. Bishop Charles Jenkins of Louisiana added: “Rebuilding New Orleans is not an American issue. It is an issue of racism, poverty and the theological issue of the dignity of every human being.”