"Like so many Americans across the country, I was outraged at the slow-moving federal response to Hurricane Katrina. When tens of thousands of people were going without the assistance they desperately needed, President Bush relaxed on his country estate at the tail end of a five-week vacation. We still do not know how many lives were lost due to indecision and poor management by the likes of former FEMA Chief Mike Brown and current Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff." Congressman Mike Honda of California served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador in the 1960's.
Congressman Mike Honda Speaks Out on Katrina
Congressman Mike Honda Speaks Out on Katrina
Commentary, Mike Honda,
Asian Week, Oct 05, 2005
Each day since Hurricane Katrina descended upon the Gulf Coast, Americans have viewed images of the devastation suffered by residents of the region, particularly those in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. And each day, individual Americans have shown their generosity and compassion by offering assistance to those who have lost everything.
Honda
The response of the American people reflects our shared commitment and devotion. The response of the federal government, however, reflects something less noble.
Like so many Americans across the country, I was outraged at the slow-moving federal response to Hurricane Katrina. When tens of thousands of people were going without the assistance they desperately needed, President Bush relaxed on his country estate at the tail end of a five-week vacation. We still do not know how many lives were lost due to indecision and poor management by the likes of former FEMA Chief Mike Brown and current Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff.
In New Orleans, the wrath of Katrina fell disproportionately on those who were unable to evacuate the city due to limited access to transportation, fuel and money. Overwhelmingly, these victims were members of minority communities, and their near-Biblical plight exposes the sad reality that, in America today, economic disparities persist and can have tragic consequences.
Many of the victims shown on evening newscasts were black American, longtime New Orleanians whom the government either forgot about or treated with criminal indifference. Many members of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community also bore the brunt of Katrina’s destruction, and are struggling right now to recover their tenuous foothold in society.
Small fishing towns such as Bayou LaBatre, which is south of Mobile, Alabama, have significant Vietnamese communities that were badly battered by Katrina. APAs who have worked hard to build up a fleet of shrimp boats along the Gulf Coast have lost everything and been forced to depart the area where they have invested a lifetime of hard work.
Before Katrina, Texas had about 134,000 Vietnamese, a sizable portion of the country’s total Vietnamese American population of more than 1.2 million. Approximately one-half of Louisiana’s 30,000 Vietnamese have taken refuge in Houston, a gigantic displacement that is being assisted by the community’s established leadership.
Other APA groups have faced similar disruption, including hundreds of Laotians and Cambodians who are being housed in temporary shelter in Louisiana’s Wat Lao Thammarattanaram. Leaders of the Laotian community, along with the Red Cross and other relief organizations, are working hard to provide necessary assistance for these evacuees.
As caregivers mobilize to care for victims, I am concerned that many APAs will not get necessary treatment due to long-standing disparities in health care. There is a lack of language access, for example, which underscores a persistent failure of services in this country.
Such disparities are very real, and they exist throughout American society. Specific services such as providing linguistic and culturally competent care are essential to addressing all the wide-ranging needs within the various APA communities. Many of the storm-related fatalities will likely result from inadequate medical care.
As a country, we must address the disparities that increasingly separate the haves from the have-nots. In providing crisis management and rebuilding assistance, we must strive toward a unified America that erases such disparities.
For my part, I am trying to address healthcare disparities in this country through “Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act,” legislation I introduced on July 28. As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), I will continue to coordinate with both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to push Tri-Caucus efforts to address the needs of the minority communities that have been adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina, and to address the disparities that threaten to create permanent divisions in our country.
Mike Honda is congressman of California's 15 district
