My friend Lindsey's Story--Where are the Black People?
The media has been ALL HURRICANE ALL THE TIME here in Florida and it is enough to make most of us barf--all of us here in Florida have had enough! While there is great and valuable information being dispensed to those who need it from the airwaves...there are some really stupid things happening, like for instance, at a grocery store magazine rack, a commemorative magazine devoted to Hurricane Charley with a picture of President Bush hugging a victim.OK, OK, we get the message!!! Because of the Divine Providence of the Bush family, all the Floridians who were touched by this storm will have enough food and water and will be able to procure shelter for their families and go on living the American Dream. "We WILL rebuild," Jebbie says!
Not true! I know people who do not have a home to go to. The electric company or the fire inspectors have sealed off homes that are damaged and structurally unsafe and people that live in those places are left to sleep in their cars, stay with friends and if they have neither, they are on the street. Having no internet access or phone service does not allow them to have access to FEMA numbers or email addresses. People who are still managing to make it to work cannot access agencies for aid, as these agencies are open during working hours only and people are afraid they will lose their jobs if they call in sick. Some have no contact information to give to the agencies anyway, so they cannot be reached by anyone. A certain "Catch-22" and none of these things will expedite help and assistance to those who need it.
So, in short, those who are living paycheck to paycheck are screwed! They could not afford to evacuate and they could not afford to spend hundreds of dollars on emergency supplies. After the destruction, either they cannot go to work, or they go and cannot get aid because they cannot miss work to apply for it or lose their jobs, or their places of employment are not open or worse yet, destroyed...so more people are becoming disenfranchised, hungry and homeless.
Another thing that we here in Florida have noticed, all the media has paid attention to or taken interviews from are people from the middle class white neighborhoods. I can recall seeing one or two black faces and a few more Hispanic people shown on the TV during the coverage on all four of the hurricanes. It is as if these neighborhoods and the help needed by these people does not exist. What is more alarming is the status of the migrant farm workers and illegals that live in trailer parks in the farming communities. We have heard nothing about these people. How have they fared? Do they have food, potable drinking water and shelter? Is the number our press has given on the amount of the dead realistic?
And even worse is the status of the Haitians who were hit by Hurricane Jeanne early on and are now starving and have no water or homes, their portion of the Hispaniola island is one big mud puddle because of previous deforestation. We get less than two minutes of coverage on the national news on their fate. Pretty slanted and biased if you ask me! Where are the black people and do they count? (We already know they do not count when declaring political asylum or applying for immigration status!)
It appears that this administration and its cronies and the biased media do not consider African Americans or Hispanics and their needs important and their problems or tragedies to count during a disaster and it's aftermath. At least that is how we see it here in Florida.
People here have had it! There is no doubt that there will be a lot of people here in Florida putting their houses on the market and getting out of this state for good.
NOTE***Also, keep in mind that when you donate to the American Red Cross, and no one can say that they do not do good work, 41% of your donation will go to Administrative Operations of that organization. It is always best to donate to the organizations where you can get more bang for your buck. Organizations can be checked for a breakdown on their expenses and a financial plan on their websites or you can call them and request it in writing.
posted by Zalala @ 9/27/2004 06:53:00 PM
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