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The difference in
attitude of the US administration to the victims of the Katrina typhoon and of
9/11 show the extreme class bias of this current rulers. The bulk of those
affected by the Katrina were the poorest of the poor Americans, and that too
mostly Black, while that of 9/11 at the World Trade Centre Pentagon, comprised
much of the US elite. Just in New Orleans, in the State of Louisiana, alone it
is expected that about 10,000 have died. This city, famous for its jazz singers
has virtually been washed away. It is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions and
the US government with its sophisticated state machinery did little and allowed
the thousands to perish.
Why? Because this is
what is called the underclass of America. Minimal aid in the form of food and
clothing began only reaching the affected days after the event. Till today it is
simply not know how many are still stranded in the upper floor of apartments,
nor how many have perished. Thousands of bodies are rotting spreading disease
throughout the State. What is most tragic is that this has occurred in the
richest country of the world. It has thoroughly exposed this so-called superior
civilization. It is exposing squalor that would shame a third-world country, as
well as racial divi-sions reminiscent of apartheid South Africa. It s a tale
of systematic neglect, administra-tive incompetence, market-driven
environ-mental destruction and desperate poverty.
To start with the
hurricane warnings predicted an even stronger storm than Katrina turned out to
be. Although the effects of such a storm and a breach of the levees (an
artificial embankment alongside a river, built to prevent flooding of the
surrounding land) were recognised by officials a year or two ago, the federal
government said that there was no money for the repairs. Further in 2004 the
federal government stopped funding for maintenance and fortification work on the
levees, which were therefore neglected for the first time in nearly 40 years. In
addition wetlands around New Orleans — which provide vital protection against
flooding and tidal surges — have been drained and built upon, and the federal
government has tied all environmental funding to the promotion of inter-state
commerce.
Secondly, officials
at all levels were very slow to react to the disaster and recognise the scale of
devastation. It took the President two days to curtail his holiday and make a
flight over New Orleans. Vice-President Dick Cheney continued his holiday in
Wyoming and did not bother. People, from all walks of life, are suffering
because preventive measures that could have lessened the effects of the
hurricane are not profitable. People were forced into an "every-man-for-himself"
situation, so millions were left to try and survive on their own. Over 100,000
people were left in New Orleans — often because they didn’t have a car, gas or
cash. This disaster revealed the unequal and oppressive relations of this
system. People live in conditions where when a disaster hits, they are left in
severe and needless danger of death. On TV, we’ve seen the many thousands of
Black people trapped in New Orleans.
Meanwhile TV was
showing dead bodies of victims in wheelchairs abandoned in sports stadia and
convention centres. People were herded into these stadia with no proper
infrastructure to cope. The dead and living lay around these enclosures with
bodies rotting next to wailing children. The neighbouring State of Taxas to
which about one lakh refugees have fled, says it can’t spare a dollar for the
affected. Texas, which is one of the extreme republican States, is soaking rich
in oil wealth and has a popula-tion of 22 million. On the other hand aid has
been offered from Cuba and Venezuela.
When the people have
nothing quite naturally they grab from the stores. For this the administration
has ordered to shoot-at-sight. Private property is after all sacrosanct. Not
even in death must you touch businessmen’s profits.
Finally, it is a
recognised fact that a major reason for the increase in the number of storms has
been due to global warming. One of the worst effects of this have been on the US
coast. While the US is one of the worst culprits for the release of green-house
gasses the Bush administration has been adamant in not agreeing to sign the
Kyoto protocol to reduce the emission as this would affect the profits of some
large MNCs. Now this has come to stike them with increased ferocity. Besides
Bush is not willing to spend a few millions on the maintenance of levees and on
relief for the Blacks but it has spent $ 170 billion on the Iraq war and gives
subsidies to agri-business to the tune of $180 billion a year. Ironically,
10,000 National Guardsmen of Louisiana who could have helped with relief are in
Iraq butchering Iraqis.
What the Blacks of
Louisiana face with Katrina is only the tip of the iceberg. Life there is a hell
for them. The so-called democracy of this ‘great’ civilization is not meant for
them. For them poverty, jails, police terror, drugs, and most importantly daily
humiliation is part of their lives. They may no longer be slaves, but they are
made to live as the dregs of humanity.
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