Orville W. Taylor, Contributor
OH WRATH! Wrath of God that is. The thought of God or Allah expressing wrath, even when translated by a prophet with a lisp is a very fearsome one. I lived through hurricanes Gilbert, Ivan, Dennis and Emily as well as successive JLP and PNP administrations but have never seen such destruction here as that wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
Katrina is a German name meaning 'pure' and like the Nazi Juggernaut in Europe, it ripped a steady path through the American South, killing yet undetermined thousands of persons. Blacked out with billions in damage it almost rivals the invasion and occupation of Iraq as the most costly event in recent American history. With streets named after liquor like bourbon, at least 80 per cent of the city is 'under waters.' In some places it is 20 feet deep. Some 100,000 persons are homeless and the shelters including the Superdome, are full.
A few months ago I noted that the tsunami in South East Asia razed cities that were transgressing the laws of God. In another column I observed that hurricanes always originate off the west coast of Africa and follow the routes that the slave traders took, through the Caribbean and up through the Southern United States. More amazing is their tendency to hit the 'Bible Belt" in southern U.S.A., where the Ku Klux Klan is strongest and where the largest numbers of African slaves and their descendants were killed over several centuries. This time 'Katrina' wreaked 'pure' havoc in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
A GENOCIDAL HOLOCAUST
The femme fatale has attempted a genocidal holocaust especially in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans is an enigma with 68 per cent of its around 500,000 residents being of African descent. This excludes individuals of mixed-African ancestry, called 'Créoles.' Though, famous for its Mardi Gras carnivals like those in Trinidad and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, its similarities with the Caribbean are very striking. Cajun cooking uses combinations of rice and beans (peas). It is pleasantly spicy - though not as tasty as Jamaican jerk - and lobster and shrimp are prepared with as much excitement as our own.
They even have a black bald-head mayor. More specifically, New Orleans is blacker than Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname. Only a few CARICOM countries and Blacka the 'rent a dread' have more African content.
Yet, the resemblance does not stop there. It has a Creole culture, which combines European and African retentions and an endemic tradition of voodoo. 'Sciance again!' The fact is New Orleans has an exotic 'Third World' quality although it is so 'close to the U.S.A.'
US UNPREPAREDNESS
Still, the arrival of 'Katrina' reveals much about the unpreparedness of the United States to deal with natural crises on its own soil. In a city universally known to be below sea level, why couldn't a first-world country have been more prepared? With technology to send rockets to Mars and launch civilisation-ending missiles, why had it not developed a system of levees and drains to handle the inevitable hurricane there?
Not surprisingly, with high unemployment, many of its citizens have enlisted in the military and National Guard and around 40 per cent of military combatants in Iraq are African American. Worse, more than 40 per cent of the Louisiana National Guard, normally available for duties during these crises have been shipped to, guess where? Iraq.
FACING ARMED BANDITS
Hopelessly overwhelmed, the local police and rescuers are facing armed bandits and looters. Dead bodies are piling up in an increasing cesspool with alligators, poisonous snakes and bacteria.
To make matters worse, the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) the equivalent of our ODPEM, has taken more than five days to air-drop critical supplies of food and water. Yet, two days after the tsunami in Asia the U.S. 'took matters in hand' and reached Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand. I cannot help but wonder if someone isn't pussyfooting the whole time because it is a city of 'niggers'. Stressed, the mayor is calling for help that is arriving slower than a public passenger bus.
It must be humiliating that Hugo Chavez, who was marked for death by Pat Robertson a week before, pledged more than 66,000 barrels of oil and medical supplies. Yet, it took four days for a clear message and commitment to come from the federal agencies.
'Katrina's' mauling of Louisiana is going to have a domino effect. Speaking of which, Fats Domino, who was reported missing, floated to safety "On Blueberry Hill". Anyway, I am happy that Fats did not perish because we might just have to lend them our 'super cop' Bigga Ford to replace him and to handle the unruly crowds, including the four Jamaicans, arrested for looting.
PREJUDICE?
The President has to carefully manage the fallout. Though perhaps too late, he must hasten to correct the impression that the New Orleaneans were ignored because they are black. Nonetheless, as much as 95 per cent of refined oil production in the Mexican gulf has been interrupted by the hurricane. This represents close to 50 per cent of all of the American domestic supply. The region also produces eight per cent of the world's coffee and is a major supplier of timber. Furthermore, more than 30 per cent of American international trade passes through the Louisiana region.
Simply put, this is an economic disaster that is going to be felt globally. It will be months before the domestic oil production is restored. So guess what? The U.S. will be even more dependent on Señor Chavez's oil or even worse, that from Saudi Arabia. By the way, if democratic elections were held now in Saudi Arabia, the pro-Bin Laden opposition would win.
Now the U.S. needs more regional black and Hispanic friends than ever.
Dr. Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
