By Bruce Alpert Bush administration denies racism in Katrina response NO. activists express concerns to U.N. WASHINGTON — The Bush administration Monday conceded mistakes in the government’s initial response to Hurricane Katrina but disputed allegations by some organizations that the response reflected governmental racism. The defense was submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee,
By Monique Harden & Nathalie Walker If you’re wondering why our government still has no comprehensive rebuilding plan for New Orleans and Gulf Coast communities, and why residents and volunteers are shouldering the tremendous burden of restoring homes on their own, look no further than policymakers who shun fundamental human rights protection as “foreign law”
The U.N. Human Rights Committee said poor and black Americans were “disadvantaged” after Katrina, and the United States should work harder to ensure that their rights “are fully taken into consideration in the reconstruction plans with regard to access to housing, education and health care.” The United States said federal and Louisiana state authorities were
link to original article By April Capochino They had to travel across the world to get the help they needed, but in the end, it paid off. In front of a Gert Town home that had collapsed like an accordion six months ago, Gert Town residents and community activists spoke about their recent trip to
link to original article Most of the carnage — the terrible illnesses and the premature deaths — is hidden. “The people in those agencies who issue the permits, and then do very little monitoring and very little enforcement in our communities, they don’t go with us to the emergency rooms where the children are suffering
link to original article To the Editor: An April 10 news article praises Edward J. Blakely, the executive director of New Orleans’s Office of Recovery Management, for having a ”clinical, outsider’s eye” when in fact his eye is blind to the human rights of New Orleanians displaced by Hurricane Katrina. According to the United Nations
link to original article MICHEL MARTIN, host: And we’re going to continue our conversation about flood risk in New Orleans with Monique Harden. She’s an environmental and community activist in New Orleans and she joins us from member station WWNO. Monique, thanks so much for speaking with us. Ms. MONIQUE HARDEN (Environmental and Community Activist):
link to original article Twenty-two months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf region of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, residents are still fighting to save their communities. We speak with Monique Harden, co-director of the New Orleans-based Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, and organizer of a caravan of Katrina activists to the U.S. Social Forum this
link to original article CURWOOD: It’s Living on Earth. I’m Steve Curwood. It’s hurricane season again, and some folks in New Orleans are feeling a little safer than they have for a while. But others feel just as vulnerable as ever. That’s because the Army Corps of Engineers has rebuilt some levees that failed in
link to original article Report: SW La. dioxin levels linked to nearby manufacturers WESTLAKE, La. — High levels of toxic chemicals in the blood of Calcasieu Parish residents are tied directly to nearby factories that make vinyl, plastics and petroleum products, an environmental advocacy group said again Tuesday. The New Orleans-based Advocates for Environmental Human
