Prior to the disaster that struck in August 2005, New Orleans maintained a vast population of poor and African American. The city also ranked as one of the country’s highest uninsured rates and many relied on the Charity Hospital system for health care. Louisiana also had some of the poorest health statistics in the country, with high rates of infant mortality, heart disease, diabetes and aids. Flooding forced the evacuation of more than one million people along with the closure of many New Orleans area hospitals. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the entire cities health care system changed, leaving many residents without access to care for more than a year after.
With unstable living and financial situations, people were
having difficulty meeting not only their basic needs before the storm, but
connecting with assistance after the storm.
The damage of the storm resulted in more than 1,500 lives
lost, 780,000 people displaced, 850 schools damaged, 200,000 homes destroyed,
18,700 businesses destroyed, and 220,000 jobs lost. The majority of the population
that was affected negatively by the storm were African Americans with poor
socio-economic status. Most had extremely low incomes, low educational levels,
no bank accounts or available credit cards, and no transportation or savings to
facilitate evacuation. Chronic health conditions were common among this
population and without adequate health insurance, many relied on Charity
Hospital for their health care. After the storm, people reported that they had
been trapped in their homes, living on the streets or an overpass for an
inhumane amount of time without food, fresh water, medication or medical care. 
In the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina, displaced residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast (a predominantly
African American population), had been subject to conditions that affected
human survival by prolonging internal displacement more than two years after
the hurricane. The U.S. Government
consistently denied residents their human right to housing through unjust policies
and programs that created a housing crisis and an unruly amount of homeless
people. The abusive treatment of hurricane evacuees by law enforcement and
military personnel had been documented, yet no action had been taken by the
Department of Justice to protect them. The
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other governmental authorities
had failed to re-open public health care facilities. With lack of access to
health care, the number of deaths continually increased. Arsenic contamination
of sediment and debris disposal had become burdensome among the African
American communities who had also been denied public health protection by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 
The government’s failure to protect the rights of displaced
people, who are predominantly African American violated the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (“CERD”) and is contrary to
the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on
Internal Displacement, which specifically prohibits ethnic cleansing and
racial discrimination. This document
recognizes the rights of individuals who remain in their country but are
uprooted from their communities as a result of natural or man-made disaster,
placing the responsibility to protect the health and well-being of these
individuals on the national governments.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) provided
temporary housing to displaced residents of the Gulf Coast. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department
of Homeland Security whose primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a
disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the
resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which
the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency to implement FEMA and
federal response recovery actions. In response to Hurricane Katrina, the
governor of Louisiana declared a state of emergency in order for federal
response to begin. Housing provided
to the people were in the form of trailers that exposed residents to high levels
of formaldehyde contained in the cabinets and other furnishing. A Congressional
hearing exposed the fact that FEMA knew of the formaldehyde exposures and
attempted to suppress complaints by residents of serious health effects
triggered by the toxic chemical.
African Americans who attempted to evacuate New Orleans were subjected
to a pattern of incarceration without due process. No formal charges were given
to these individuals and the opportunity to post bail or seek legal
representation was taken from them. Reports of inhumane conditions and abuse in
the prisons were documented. The inmates also suffered extensive sentences long
after their original sentence was completed. 
Against tremendous opposition
from the U.S. Government, hurricane survivors are still struggling to return
home and rebuild their communities. The
people of this community have the right to rebuild their lives and their
communities as well as flourish among the vast population of survivors of the
aftermath of Katrina. The government is responsible to protect these rights and
assistance should be provided accordingly.Ursula Thomas
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