Bush said the United States had the resources to cover the massive rebuilding costs, and was not looking for foreign aid. "I'm not expecting much from foreign nations, because I haven't asked for it. I'm expecting sympathy and maybe some will send cash," he said.
"I'm not expecting much from foreign nations, because I haven't asked for it. I'm expecting sympathy and maybe some will send cash," he said.
And I don´t get it! Every time a disaster happens we are told that the first few days are critical. First to rescue as many people as possible and then to care for the survivors. Clean water, food, dry clothing, medical care. And that a lot of people will unnecessarily die without it.
Those Canadian rescue teams could already be there in Louisiana by now.
It is the people trapped in New Orleans who need immediate help. And lack of funds or even personel do not seem to be the crux of the problem. It sounds like it is nearly impossible to get in or out of the city. And there is no way to communicate with those 50-100,000 people still in the city. The plan is NOT to get clean water, food, dry clothing, medical care to those people, but to GET THEM OUT and to abandon the city.
I'd think we could certainly use more helicopter and airboat rescue teams.
It troubles me that, at least in the foreign press, it appears Bush is not asking for help. But given the facts that 1)it has taken everyone a while to comprehend how bad this is, 2)Bush sat reading a childrens book while our country was attacked and 3)the sheer logistics which, according to officials, have made it "impossible" to carry out a timely and efficient search and rescue opperation ... I'd hold off on speculation that Bush has refused help out of pride.
Also, it is the Red Cross and not the American government which is handling all of the cash donations and the Mayor of N.O. has been begging people to give to the Red Cross since Monday.
The Canadians shouldn't be waiting for an invite. If they want to help, they should just come and help. Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
Not to mention that according to CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/01/katrina.impact/index.html "Thousands of people have been sleeping on streets, interstate access ramps, bridges or any dry spot they can find.
Outside the New Orleans Convention Center, a huge crowd waited on the sidewalks for aid that could be a long time coming. The building was used as a secondary shelter when the Louisiana Superdome was overwhelmed."
Those people will need water and food now...
Still, I do understand your point.
It troubles me that, at least in the foreign press, it appears Bush is not asking for help.
One point of this thread was showing Americans that foreign countries and foreign aid organisations are willing to help. Even if we´re not needed, we´re offering it. It worries me in return that a lot/some Americans seem to be thinking that we don´t want to help.
If the US is turning away help, that is just a crime against humanity. Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
I would ask everyone here, and perhaps especially in Europe, to contact every politician and media outlet that they can to let them know the US reaction is not acceptable.
We have zero leadership, zero resources, and we are letting these people die. Please understand what you are seeing. They knew Monday night the levee was breached and what it meant. The did not respond. This is a crime against humanity. Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
Insane. Just insane.
And I second what Izzy said. Get the word out. This is unacceptable. And help is desperately needed. Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
The response to disaster in the US has been a shock and a huge failure. However, the reports say that rescue teams have been turned back because of the chaos, not because of politics.
For those of you who don't know, rescue workers and those steering private boats have shot and killed. boats have been highjacked. The city and those left are in a bad state, and all the violence isn't helping matters. S & R missions were actually put on hold at one point yesterday. Today the mass evacuation of the Superdome was halted, and troops were brought in to contain the violence. So, no matter how much other countries want to help, they can't.
In the apportionment of blame, heads need to roll at fEMA and within the US administration for this inept handling of disaster response. Louisiana officials should also be ashamed. lastly, our newspeople who are constantly focusing on looting should hang their heads. Emphasizing the value of property (worthless WALMART crap) over human lives is unacceptable, and even worse the coverage has influenced law enforcement to divert attention away from rescue operations to looting.
This is a fiasco, and unfortunately, while any offers are appreciated, there's not much other countries can do.
Myself, I'm sending money locally to organizations that have no affiliation with the S & R operations. I'm hoping that the refugees (many of whom will be permanently displaced) can go on with their lives.
In fact a sensible administration would have had them ready to go beforehand: I knew on Saturday that this could happen. That was the time to be lining up foreign help. Not to mention your own resources Put them on standby. Why aren't there thousands of troops on the streets of New Orleans? Why weren't they there on Monday or Tuesday?
As for the rest of your questions, I agree. Unfortunately, there is a colossal eff-up somewhere. I have no idea where it is, but it should be condemned. Two days ago when 4,000 national guardsman moved in, the commander said that they are only the forward local position and that tens of thousands will be moving in soon. Where are they?
But as for the S & R teams from foreign nations (which is at the center of this particular diary) I completely understand why they haven't been invited in. The reports right now have thousands of S & R people from the US waiting to enter the city.
Lourdes Muñoz Santamaria, her husband and his 10-year-old son were on vacation in New Orleans and were unable to get a flight out of the city before Hurricane Katrina struck. ... According to Boix, Muñoz said dead bodies were inside the center and others were outside, with no one removing them. Muñoz also told Boix there was no water at the center, and that when a few evacuation buses pulled up to the center Wednesday, there was a scramble to get aboard and only the strongest made it, because no authorities were on hand to direct a more-orderly evacuation. Later, Muñoz described the situation to CNN partner station CNN+ in Madrid. "It's everyone for himself. The police and army pass by the center, but here no one is organizing anything," she said. "There's no food or water, the people are becoming dehydrated. ... Muñoz said she has been in frequent contact with the Spanish Embassy in Washington but that U.S. authorities are not permitting embassy personnel to enter New Orleans. Muñoz, 35, is an MP from Barcelona for Spain's Socialist Party.
... According to Boix, Muñoz said dead bodies were inside the center and others were outside, with no one removing them.
Muñoz also told Boix there was no water at the center, and that when a few evacuation buses pulled up to the center Wednesday, there was a scramble to get aboard and only the strongest made it, because no authorities were on hand to direct a more-orderly evacuation.
Later, Muñoz described the situation to CNN partner station CNN+ in Madrid.
"It's everyone for himself. The police and army pass by the center, but here no one is organizing anything," she said.
"There's no food or water, the people are becoming dehydrated.
... Muñoz said she has been in frequent contact with the Spanish Embassy in Washington but that U.S. authorities are not permitting embassy personnel to enter New Orleans.
Muñoz, 35, is an MP from Barcelona for Spain's Socialist Party.
BREAKING: Sec of State Condi Rice caught buying several-thousand-dollar pair of shoes in NYC moments ago, spends last night at Broadway show!
Welcome to our universe... Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
They are lying their asses off all over the media. They did not prepare properly. They did not respond properly. They knew MONDAY the levee was breached and what it meant. They have LET the situation devolve into chaos.
I know it's hard to accept. I know no one wants to think the US has sunk this far. But look at it. The crucial 72 hours they did nothing. And I'm not talking about the poor souls, the rescue and charity workers who are down there -- I'm talking about an organized response to a crisis.
The world press didn't even know the enormity. Our own press didn't start somewhat reporting it until Tuesday night. Why is that? We knew Monday the levee was breached. We knew what that meant. We did nothing. Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
What is BULL-FUCKING-SHIT?
I wrote that the response of the US gov't has been a fiasco. I have written multiple posts here saying that the disaster response deserves the utmost repudiation. The very post you're replying to says as much.
However, whether you like it or not, these are the facts on the ground. The US needs no search 7 rescue teams right now. Why? Because there are hundreds of S & R teams from all over the country in Louisiana right now. Where are these teams? Are they in New Orleans? No. They haven't been allowed to go in. In fact, a few teams have been pulled out because of the conditions. So, let me ask you again, what would the US do with foreign S 7 R teams when there are already hundreds of them down there twiddling their thumbs.
We already know that the government effed up royally by not securing things IMMEDIATELY. But that has little bearing on the situation as it stands. The facts are that they haven't secured the area, and even the most secure area (Superdome) has had to have the evacuation postponed because of violence.
So, again, what exactly is BULL-FUCKING-SHIT?
I'm so sorry it seemed aimed at you. It was not.
And I do think we should be getting worked up. We cannot let them off the hook. Even now, it is not too late to do some things. It may not be productive for other countries to send teams, but they should be aware of what's happening here and, as a global community, denounce this. Bring every political pressure to bear to make us do the right thing. Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
I think you might both be right.
It does not appear that our own government has been able to handle the situation. Reports from people on the ground there are they they don't have enough resources & back-up. In all fairness they were not given a ton of time to plan for this and I'm not sure people really understood, could comprehend how bad it would be.
Despite the fact that the US was obviously unable to deal with this disaster on its own (where is Homeland Security? Weren't they supposed to be able to rescue people, even in the face of violence?), it does not appear to us that the International press or governments have digested, or at least acted upon, the enormity of the situation. May be a dozen reasons for that (time, US response, politics, logistics, etc...). Time will tell.
And yet it also does not appear that even if every government with the resources to help were to provide those resources they would have any immediate impact on the situation because of the difficulties on the ground, er, in New Orleans with lack of communications, lack of ways in or out of the city and rising violence. ... I personally have a little trouble buying that last bit. But that's the word on the street. Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
As for the violence, I have academic colleagues in Baton Rouge who have given me first hand reports of wounded arriving from New Orleans. In short, I don't doubt the violence. But, it is now dawning on me that this can be used against the rescue effort. Normally, I would have made the connection right away, but I was horrified by the report from my colleague and I am in despair over it. There are 70,000-90,000 people in the city. The vast majority are good desperate people trying to get out.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=23281&name=Netherla nds+offers+US+help+with+Katrina+floods "AMSTERDAM -- The Netherlands has offered the US authorities the services of a dike inspection team to help combat the flooding in New Orleans. (Link from a DailyKos comment http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2005/9/1/111514/4471/66#66)
The team is ready to leave for America if it is required, the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Waterways said on Thursday."
An additional question... What are you going to do with the refugees? Specifically the people evacuated from the dome in NOLA to the Astrodome? I mean that´s not a long term shelter. And what about the people without money to pay for rooms?
As for the refugees, many of them will be permanently resettled. The people of new Orleans are very poor as is, and it stands to reason that the great majority didn't leave because they either didn't heed warnings and offers of transport or else they never learned of the offers and were without personal transport.
The gov't and the relief services will supply housing. They will be in the Astrodome at least for several weeks. Consider, the children are already being enrolled in local Houston schools.
And I´m starting to get hopeful since according to Bloomberg.com they finally decided to let Vancouver's heavy urban search and rescue team into the USA.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=awhmdYLAa_1Q&refer=canada
And I assume that the USA has a lot available too so the German ones aren´t really needed. Still I´m wondering why Texas officials talk about having people taking shelter in the Astrodome probably for weeks. If that´s a true assessment then personally I would accept such housings from everyone who could deliver some in the next - say - 2 weeks.
Not to mention that "focusing on getting people out of New Orleans" only is totally stupid IMO. It is the number one priority, no disagreement here. But they really should be able to "multitask" so to speak. Rescuing people in New Orleans and elsewhere AND caring for evacuated people too. Leaving refugees stranded for days and weeks is insane!
Let´s talk about the Astrodome. From what I´ve read the Astrodome is/was a baseball stadium? How are 10,000 or 20,000 people going to live there for weeks? Tents on the baseball field? Toilets? Showers?
Wouldn´t it be easier to just throw gravel (is that the right word?) on a large field. Erect tents (If possible one tent per 1-2 families). Use some of those disaster teams to build/provide fresh water supply, electricity, waste water treatment and toilets/showers. Send an army mobile hospital for health care. Wouldn´that be a better solution than the Astrodome? And you even can "keep track of people" in these temporary camps.
Not to mention that people seriously sick should be in a hospital, not in some emergency shelter.
The one thing the Astrodome has though is air conditioning. Probably needed in Texas. Still, if you´ve got electricity...
Somehow I think the whole rescue and aid effort is horribly disorganized.
Unless they are lying, this is the situation as reported.
In that case I retract all of my earlier statements. :)
I was worried because the American media coverage I could view (using the Internet) did seem to indicate a worrying lack of coordinated aid efforts.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/3334317
Incredible!
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12533177.htm About 5,000 refugees made it by bus to Houston's Astrodome, but only 2,000 cots awaited them. Once again, thousands of people were subjected to discomfort and indignity.
If that´s true then it seems like preparations at the Astrodome weren´t as thorough as we would like them to be.
