Revolution#142, September 7, 2008
GUSTAV ALERT
As Gustav approaches landfall on the Gulf coast, we call on the people, all those who witnessed and were outraged by the horror of what happened in the wake of Katrina, to remain vigilant and tense, ready to respond with political resistance, to stand up for the people...and to not allow the U.S. government to commit crimes against the people.
August 31, 2008: It’s the third anniversary of Katrina, almost to the day. Hurricane Gustav is heading towards the Louisiana coast. Katrina was a Category 3 storm. Gustav is at least Category 3 and at least 80 people died when it swept through the Caribbean. Some estimates say two million people will be displaced in the U.S. Gulf region.
Throughout the city of New Orleans, people are nailing plywood boards over windows and getting ready to leave. In New Orleans there are already 1,500 police and at least 2,000 national guardsmen on the ground to enforce the evacuation. News reports say some 7,000 national guardsmen are in place in Louisiana to “protect property.” And Governor Jindal has requested 16,000 more.
Once again city streets of New Orleans have taken on the look of an occupied city with Humvees crawling down the streets filled with men wearing camouflage and dark sunglasses.
Just like three years ago, a race to get out of harm’s way reveals the unequal and oppressive relations in society. Poverty, segregation, national oppression are all factors determining how hard it is for people to get safely out of the city.
Those with cars are able to drive away. Those without cars, the poor, mostly Black people, are waiting in long lines for buses, not knowing where they will end up. Some waiting in line now were in the Superdome when Katrina hit. They remember how nearly 100,000 people were left behind, abandoned by the government—then herded into the Superdome, subjected to inhumane conditions, then callously evacuated, sometimes separated from other family members.
This time the evacuation is happening before the storm hits. But will people be treated differently this time? Some things are starting to feel the same. People get on a bus. Then get on a train. Get entered into a computer. Get a bar code bracelet. They’re on the way to a public shelter in Shreveport or Memphis or somewhere else.
There’s a 24 hour curfew. The news reported that Mayor Ray Nagin “directed a special message at would-be looters... ‘You will not get a pass this time.’ And those caught won’t be shipped to a mere parish jail; they’ll be sent to the state’s notorious Angola Prison. ‘I want to make sure every potential looter understands that,’ said Nagin. ‘You will go directly to Angola Prison and God bless you when you get there.’”
Officials have announced that those out during curfew will be arrested. This means anyone who remains in New Orleans is automatically a “criminal” and people who stay will not be able to leave their homes for any reason without facing arrest.
Three years ago, the whole world watched the Bush regime commit horrendous crimes against the people of New Orleans. And people have seen how the government has done little to rebuild the levees to withstand a major storm, to rebuild many neighborhoods, and help people return and get their lives back together. When Katrina hit, there was an outpouring of help from millions, but there was not enough political resistance from around the country and the world; this time, people need to be ready to ACT politically against another outrage.
Three years ago, on August 31, 2005, the RCP issued a statement that began: “There was no way to stop Hurricane Katrina, but the chaos, suffering and death that resulted from this storm WAS preventable. Why didn’t the government organize massive and systematic evacuation? Why weren’t the levees maintained? Why were so many people left to fend for themselves?”
After Katrina, there was a lot of heroism and creativity among the people as they came together to try and survive in the most horrendous conditions. Three years ago, we all saw how the system valued private property over human lives. Now, the U.S. ruling class knows that the whole world is watching to see what it will do as Gustav moves closer to landfall. It will have to show “concern.” But even as they scramble to look like they are doing all they can to “save lives,” the nature of this capitalist system comes through. Once again, they are making it clear that a big focus of concern is preventing so-called “looting” and “protecting” private property, not people.
The United States government has the resources to deal with the impending danger of Hurricane Gustav. This is a system that can quickly spend billions and mobilize hundreds of thousands, to wage war across the ocean in a country thousands of miles away. The people must demand that this system do all that is possible to humanely and safely evacuate people out of the path of Hurricane Gustav.
WE DEMAND:
- At the government’s expense: People who are being evacuated must be housed in decent, safe conditions and cared for until they can safely return to their homes; there must be free communication for people to contact relatives. Immediately, there must be emergency medical care and measures for those in need. There must be emergency relief—people must be immediately provided with water, food, medicines, and other basic needs FREE OF CHARGE.
- The needs of all must be met, with first priority to those most urgently in need. All the necessary resources must be mustered to evacuate people immediately and safely; families must not be separated. People must not be evacuated into situations which are dangerous and where their needs, including medical needs, will not be met.
- People must NOT be allowed to die when Gustav hits land. There must be intense search and rescue efforts in all areas. All necessary resources, including mobilizing volunteers, must be brought to bear on this.
- The police and national guardsmen must not be allowed to occupy cities like storm-troopers and brutalize people. There must be no arrests for so-called looting. The government must not repress people who volunteer or prevent them from helping, but instead, must assist these efforts. The cold-blooded murders carried out by law enforcement at the time of Katrina, the terrorization by law enforcement of people seeking safety, as well as the abandonment and victimization of prisoners, must NOT be repeated.
- There must be no profiteering and speculation off people’s misery by the sharks of insurance companies, oil monopolies, real estate developers, etc.
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