Today Hurricane Gustav made landfall. Kate Harding published some quotes from a CNN article about people who are staying behind. And not because they want to:
"The thing is... most people don't have cars to leave, don't have money for gas. Pay for a hotel for that long? I mean, you have to do whatever you have to do, and I guess I'm gonna stay and work." [--Michael Kennedy, dishwasher]"If I left, I'll probably lose my job," said Jeremiah O'Farrell, another dishwasher who is staying put. "I really don't have anywhere to go if I could leave."
[Ninth Ward resident Sidney] William wants desperately to leave his native New Orleans to avoid Gustav. He didn't leave for Katrina because he didn't have the money. He won't talk about what happened to him during that storm.
"I wish I had the money to go." Rejected for disability subsidies, he depends on his 23-year-old daughter, Gloria, to support the family.
That's heart-wrenching. Keep these people in your thoughts/prayers.
Feministing tech goddess Deanna also passed along the following ways to stay informed and in touch:
- Volunteer, discuss, get updates at http://gustav08.ning.com/
- Gustav info wiki: http://gustavwiki.com/
- More info from Andy Carvin
- Official NHC alerts
- Twitter stream on Gustav (slightly overwhelming)
And remember, INCITE needs your support to help low-income women of color affected by Gustav.
UPDATE: Suzie at Echidne's place links to a report on the gendered aspects of natural disasters. Check it out.
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You know, I'm not sure what to think of these quotes. It's these exact quotes that have now been published on three different feminist blogs to give the impression that it's just as bad as it was three years ago.
But it's not. There were hundreds of buses providing free transportation, and AmTrak also provided transportation out of the city (for people and their pets). There are a bunch of Red Cross shelters in the surrounding area where people can stay if they can't afford a hotel. Maybe the problem is that they aren't aware of these things? But to make it sound like there's no help for people who can't afford hotel rooms is disingenuous.
I seriously doubt anyone needed money to evacuate this time. Hypersensitive Republicans are going to be handing out debit cards like candy and tripping over themselves to shelter evacuees this time around.
Noting that some low-income people have been left behind in a place that's at serious risk for natural disaster -- and asking people in other parts of the country to keep those folks in mind -- is not the same thing as saying "it's another Katrina."
@Lalaroo One of the pages linked to above mentions that there are people who are afraid to take advantage of those free buses for fear of being deported.