Close to two years after the terrible Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged New Orleans and Louisiana, hundreds of thousands of families, mostly Black, are still dispersed throughout the four corners of the United States and prohibited from return to their homes.
Of the US$850 million dollars in international aid to the United States after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, only $40 million have been used. The distribution of supplies, medications, and services offered were delayed — if not rejected — by the federal government.
At the end of next August 2007, an independent International Tribunal will take place in New Orleans to judge those responsible in the federal and state governments in the United States for this situation.
Organized by the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund-Oversight Committee (PHRF-OC), with the support from the ILC and many other organizations, the Katrina Tribunal will take place in late August. It aims to judge those responsible for this tragedy that has displaced 400,000 people from the states of Louisiana and Mississippi and has left 100,000 of them homeless. In Brazil, a delegation to the Tribunal is in the process of being organized. To raise funds, a bulletin containing the testimony of Edenice Sant’ana, a Black activist from Bahia who met some of the victims of the hurricane during the International Commission of Inquiry, is being distributed.
"Ethnic Cleansing": The Fight Against All Forms of Racism
[Interview with Sonia Leite, national secretary of Struggle Against Racism of the Workers Party, one of the organizers of the Tribunal in Brazil.]
O Trabalho: How do you see the question of Hurricane Katrina?
SL: This was a natural disaster that capitalism used to foster racial conflict. It used the tragedy to take away what little the Black people of New Orleans had. We’ve seen that the municipal, state, and federal governments have no will to help the Black people affected by the hurricane.
O Trabalho: In your opinion, what relation can the Black movement of Brazil establish with the Katrina survivors?
SL: For a long time, the Black movement has been made up of all those in the Black Diaspora. We’ve seen how racism against Blacks is international - only the form changes in each country. We struggle against all form of oppression. We began in the 1960s, in relation to the struggles of Blacks within the United States. Then there was the question of Apartheid in South Africa. Now, Katrina has faced us with an ethnic massacre.
When I say massacre, I’m speaking about the displacement of citizens, because we’ve clearly seen that the different levels of government have not helped them rebuild their lives. It’s as if they were expelled. We in the Tribunal support committee in Brazil have a space for unity to pose and discuss all the forms of racism that affect us.
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"Solidarity Against Racism":
The preparations for the Tribunal advance in the United States and Brazil, with the public meeting on May 10 in Sao Paulo.
leader of Revolution Youth and the Black Student Union at Lowell High School; Clarence Thomas, co-chair of the Million Worker March Movement; and Monadel Herzallah, of the Arab American Union Members Committee.
In Atlanta, U.S.A., on April 14, the first Forum of the Tribunal took place at Clark Atlanta University. More than 50 survivors were heard by the People’s Court. This was the first of the preparatory assemblies in various cities.
In Sao Paulo, on May 10, a big public event organized by the United Workers Confederation (CUT), UNE, CONEM, MNU, PT, and others will take place in the Legislative Assembly.
The meeting will commemorate the "National Day Against Racial Discrimination" in Brazil and will support the Tribunal on Katrina in the United States.
Following is an interview with Rafael Pinto, director of the AFUBESP (Association of Banespa workers) and member of Soweto, a Black organization. Pinto is also a leader of CONEM, the National Coordination of Black Organizations.
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O Trabalho: What was the impact of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy?
RP: It reminds us of our preoccupation for the environment; the United States has a huge responsibility because it has not signed the Kyoto Protocol.
The impact hit a region where the preventative services were alerted to the risks that the levees would not hold up. Therefore, the U.S. government is responsible.
Next, the government was negligent when it came to giving immediate help to the victims. That is why when we speak of reconstruction today, the question of ethnic cleansing is posed, because the preservation of Black identity, which is strong in the region, is threatened by the forcible displacement.
We cannot remain inactive, we must demand that the United States provide a solution that respects the rights of the Black population that lives and will continue to live in New Orleans.
O Trabalho: As a Brazilian, Black activist, and trade unionist, how do you see the Tribunal?
RP: I think it is an instrument to protect human rights. It allows us to discuss the situation of Black people in the United States, but it also allows us to solidify the links of international solidarity in the struggle against racism. This link is extremely important. In the Black movement, we remember another moment where this took place: the struggle against Apartheid. This will be the next action that will unify the anti-racist and human rights fighters; it has historic importance. I hope that solidarity with the people of New Orleans will come from all countries.
