Why Can Cuba Handle Hurricanes that We C an't?

“http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/090305Y.shtml

The Two Americas

By Marjorie Cohn

t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Saturday 03 September 2005

Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one died.

What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret? According to Dr. Nelson Valdes, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and specialist in Latin America, "the whole civil defense is embedded in the community to begin with. People know ahead of time where they are to go."

"Cuba's leaders go on TV and take charge," said Valdes. Contrast this with George W. Bush's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Bush was playing golf. He waited three days to make a TV appearance and five days before visiting the disaster site. In a scathing editorial on Thursday, the New York Times said, "nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis."

"Merely sticking people in a stadium is unthinkable" in Cuba, Valdes said. "Shelters all have medical personnel, from the neighborhood. They have family doctors in Cuba, who evacuate together with the neighborhood, and already know, for example, who needs insulin."

They also evacuate animals and veterinarians, TV sets and refrigerators, "so that people aren't reluctant to leave because people might steal their stuff," Valdes observed.

After Hurricane Ivan, the United Nations International Secretariat for Disaster Reduction cited Cuba as a model for hurricane preparation. ISDR director Salvano Briceno said, "The Cuban way could easily be applied to other countries with similar economic conditions and even in countries with greater resources that do not manage to protect their population as well as Cuba does."

Our federal and local governments had more than ample warning that hurricanes, which are growing in intensity thanks to global warming, could destroy New Orleans. Yet, instead of heeding those warnings, Bush set about to prevent states from controlling global warming, weaken FEMA, and cut the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for levee construction in New Orleans by $71.2 million, a 44 percent reduction.

Bush sent nearly half our National Guard troops and high-water Humvees to fight in an unnecessary war in Iraq. Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Paris in New Orleans, noted a year ago, "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq."

An Editor and Publisher article Wednesday said the Army Corps of Engineers "never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security - coming at the same time as federal tax cuts - was the reason for the strain," which caused a slowdown of work on flood control and sinking levees.

"This storm was much greater than protection we were authorized to provide," said Alfred C. Naomi, a senior project manager in the New Orleans district of the corps.

Unlike in Cuba, where homeland security means keeping the country secure from deadly natural disasters as well as foreign invasions, Bush has failed to keep our people safe. "On a fundamental level," Paul Krugman wrote in yesterday's New York Times, "our current leaders just aren't serious about some of the essential functions of government. They like waging war, but they don't like providing security, rescuing those in need or spending on prevention measures. And they never, ever ask for shared sacrifice."

During the 2004 election campaign, vice presidential candidate John Edwards spoke of "the two Americas." It seems unfathomable how people can shoot at rescue workers. Yet, after the beating of Rodney King aired on televisions across the country, poor, desperate, hungry people in Watts took over their neighborhoods, burning and looting. Their anger, which had seethed below the surface for so long, erupted. That's what's happening now in New Orleans. And we, mostly white, people of privilege, rarely catch a glimpse of this other America.

"I think a lot of it has to do with race and class," said Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. "The people affected were largely poor people. Poor, black people."

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reached a breaking point Thursday night. "You mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources we need? Come on, man!"

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff had boasted earlier in the day that FEMA and other federal agencies have done a "magnificent job" under the circumstances.

But, said, Nagin, "They're feeding the people a line of bull, and they are spinning and people are dying. Get off your asses and let's do something!"

When asked about the looting, the mayor said that except for a few "knuckleheads," it is the result of desperate people trying to find food and water to survive.

Nagin blamed the outbreak of violence and crime on drug addicts who have been cut off from their drug supplies, wandering the city, "looking to take the edge off their jones."

When Hurricane Ivan hit Cuba, no curfew was imposed; yet, no looting or violence took place. Everyone was in the same boat.

Fidel Castro, who has compared his government's preparations for Hurricane Ivan to the island's long-standing preparations for an invasion by the United States, said, "We've been preparing for this for 45 years."

On Thursday, Cuba's National Assembly sent a message of solidarity to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It says the Cuban people have followed closely the news of the hurricane damage in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and the news has caused pain and sadness. The message notes that the hardest hit are African-Americans, Latino workers, and the poor, who still wait to be rescued and taken to secure places, and who have suffered the most fatalities and homelessness. The message concludes by saying that the entire world must feel this tragedy as its own.


Marjorie Cohn, a contributing editor to t r u t h o u t, is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, executive vice president of the National Lawyers Guild, and the US representative to the executive committee of the American Association of Jurists.
last edited: 9/04/05 8:25:17 AM”

“American's have the freedom to choose. They were not forced to leave. Some of them still refuse to leave.”

“this whole disaster is yet another wake up call...what would be the diff if this had been a terrorism act? (rhetorical)
The people there are screwed no matter what the cause of the disaster because the system is screwed. Think about this scale of destruction happening in your town, which it very well could - the destruction, not necessarily by the same means. Are you prepared? Would you stay or go if given the warning ahead of time? Where would you go?

Personally, I think the people who stayed behind are a bit foolish...would I have stayed if a family member was ill and couldn't go? Yes. If my pets couldn't be evac'd with me? Yes. That being said, I've got a plan in place for fast-evac, should the need arise and time provided.
There is no sense in waiting until it happens to YOU to think about these things.

How many more wake up calls does Bush need? He keeps hitting the snooze button, with the covers pulled ove rhis head.

W A K E UP!!

(on a side note: at least we are now going to be accepting foreign aid - about time. Maybe Bush is hoping that someone might have a clue and be able to be of help.)”

“What are you basing your opinion on Amy? How are you able to understand the scope of this disaster?”

“Hello Paccy-poo! :P
I don't think anyone can truly understand the scope of this disaster without actually being there, but I have been very involved for the past several days in relief preparation efforts. My perspective on the system in general comes from my Homeland Security training (WMD, Bioterrorism, Incident Commander Ops, more...).

On that note, New Orleans may now be the biggest target on the map for a terrorist event. The large percentage of rescue personnel that have now been compacted into that area make it a relative "jackpot" for an attack.”

“speaking of Cuba...

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=2376190&PageNum=0

HAVANA, September 3 (Itar-Tass) - Cuba is ready to dispatch 1,100 medics to the United States to provide urgent aid to those affected by Hurricane Katrina there, Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on local television here on Friday.

According to Castro, “Despite political and ideological disagreement” with the United States, Cuba is “ready to provide aid” to the neighbouring country. He said Cuban medics can very shortly arrive to the American southern states hit by the disaster and bring with them over 26 tonnes of medicines necessary for the treatment of affected population.

The Cuban leader said he made the aid offer to Washington through diplomatic channels, however has not received any reply so far. He also stressed the first group of medics from Cuba is ready to immediately go to the US southern states stricken by the hurricane.

On Friday, the Cuban leader expressed profound condolences to the US people in connection with the disaster. In the view of lawmakers, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has proved to be a huge-scale tragedy.

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"26 tonnes" of medicine" and 1100 trained and experienced personnel are ready, willing and able...and only a short boat-ride away. What's up?

Just as an aside: Do you think it further ensures our safety to mix the cards down there or does it increase the risk? (i.e. is it a deterrent to terrorists to have some of "their" people in harm's way of an attack - or- are we possibly opening ourselves up for an increased risk by opening these doors?)

Any thoughtful discussion here?
(I am stuck here at the squad all day,can you tell?) lol”

“Hmmmmm, I wonder if Pat Robberson would approve of Castro's offer.

Ya know, they might be trying to infiltrate and take over!!!

Hoohoohahahahahahahaha!!!

That evil bastard Hugo Chavez offered aid too.”

“Where I live, SAR and OES have what we call a resource list.

It is a list of business and people in the community we call at any hour of the day or night for what we may need. I have called the owner of the local hardware store at 1 am to get batteries and supplies, we have opened schools and used them as bases for the Overhead Team. The local restaurants will open their doors to feed personal.

I have just heard stories of trucks with fuel (can't remember who it was from) and of water from Wal-Mart being turned around because they didn't go through FEMA...WTF

Shasta County sent a Overhead Team, Tuesday morning, to New Orleans. I don't understand why it took so long for the Feds to get their ass's in gear.”

““this whole disaster is yet another wake up call...what would be the diff if this had been a terrorism act? (rhetorical)
AmyG
9:11:42 AM

This is one of the things I've been thinking. The Levees could have been destroyed with terrorist bombs - with no advance evacuation. There could have been some low level nuke device. With Homeland security on the front burner for four years... with all the money, lives and energy spent on Iraq and elsewhere in the name of making Americans safer... what has been accomplished? What could have been accomplished?

For now, I want to focus on what can be done now and in the near future. But there are important questions that should not be brushed aside for long.”

“the fed is responsible for securing the nation. homeland security isn't responsible for each city's emergency response plan. that is the responsiblility of the city/state. new orleans and louisianna are responsible for being ready for whatever comes.”

“on a side note, or should i say, back to the topic of the thread, we should take cuba up on it. what a first step that would be.”

“I think we should take Cuba up on it too. It's time we told the Cubans living in Miami to get used to the idea that relations between Cuba and the USA are ready for a new paradigm. Enough of their BS.

Viva Fidel! Viva Cuba! Viva la Revolucion!”