Katrina has exposed the 'third world' in America

The reality is that the historic city of New Orleans is a part of the United States. The city, known for its rich cultural heritage influenced by the French, Spanish and Caribbean traditions, has always maintained a delicate balance between the super rich and predominant poor. On one side were exotic night clubs, restaurants and the famous French Quarter, and on the other a picture of desperate poverty, ghettos and the lack of basic amenities of life.

Last week when Katrina was about to strike, the wealthy segment of the city, mostly white and making up roughly one third of the population, quickly left to places of safety. The other two thirds, the desperate poor and mostly black, had no cars or means to move out of the city nor were they provided with any official means for evacuation. Tens of thousands took shelter in the sports arena Superdome and in the absence of water and sanitation, the place soon turned uninhabitable. The rest stayed in their homes and waited for the worst. The aftermath of the Katrina is a picture of desperation, devastation and despair that almost solely comprises the African-American. [African-American is the politically correct name for the black population of US.]

It is true that Katrina has caused catastrophic damages and has devastated the entire gulf coast of the country, an area roughly equal to that of Great Britain. On the other hand, it is also true that America has the means to face this challenge. Unfortunately, the initial relief and rescue effort, as shown live on television around the world, was marked by callousness and incompetence. In the sultry heat of 90 degree Fahrenheit the stranded people in their homes or in overcrowded Superdome were languishing like animals with no food or water for days.

In their desperation, some hungry survivors started looting supermarkets and grocery stores to obtain food, water, ice and other necessities. And as to be expected, the criminals among them started looting electronic shops and departmental stores. Consequently, for a while the focus of the post-hurricane effort shifted from relief and rescue to maintaining law and order. All these could have been easily avoided if the survivors had been promptly supplied with food, water and other essential items.

After President Bush's visit to the affected areas, the relief and rescue operation has finally geared up and additional resources have been placed for the relief and evacuation of hurricane survivors to the neighboring states. The pivotal body in the operation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) failed miserably and today its Chief Michael Brown has been removed from the Katrina rescue operation and has been replaced by Vice Admiral Thud Allen. This should restore the credibility of the agency. Some experts believe that after 9/11, FEMA had focused too much on the possible terrorist-related disasters and did not pay enough attention to natural disasters. A comprehensive approach is clearly needed.

The damage caused to Louisiana and Mississippi is so extensive that it will take years to rebuild them. The city of New Orleans lies below sea level, and the dykes and levees which protect the city are long overdue for comprehensive repairs. Incidentally, Hasan S Mashriqui, a Bangladesh-born scientist at Louisiana State University, is playing an important role in this reconstruction project. The affected Southern states unfortunately are also the poorest in the United States, and they would require sustained and generous federal support to meet their long and short term reconstruction goals.

This year alone five deadly hurricanes have battered Florida and Caribbean states. Some reports suggest that global warming could be fueling these frequent natural disasters as warm oceans are such a critical ingredient in hurricane formation. If that is so, will Washington, which has so long opposed the international efforts on the global warming issue, re-evaluate its position now?

The people of Bangladesh, with more than their share of natural disasters, fully sympathise with the suffering humanity of the hurricane affected areas in US. Thirty-five years ago, the misery that our people had suffered after the devastating cyclone had been compounded by the total apathy of the Pakistani authorities. International relief, spearheaded by the Americans had come to our rescue at that dismal moment. They had also immensely helped us later in rebuilding our war-damaged country.

Over the period of years Bangladesh has developed necessary expertise in disaster management, and it is now one of our areas of specialisation.

Despite serious resource constraints, our successive governments were able to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people during cyclones or floods. In 1998 two-third of our country was under water for three months and there were wide apprehension that twenty million people might die. Fortunately, due to timely intervention of the-then government, millions were given shelter and food to tide over the catastrophe.

It is time for us to show that we too care for our friends and well wishers in their hours of distress. Nobody expects anything big from us but at least we should come up with some token support. Yesterday, Mexican trucks moved in to Texas with relief supplies for the victims. More generous assistance will surely come from America's allies and friends. Even their adversaries, the Cuban President Castro has offered 1100 doctors and 26 tonnes of medicines, and the Socialist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered $ I million to American Red Cross. Our neighbour India has also given $ 5 million to the American Red Cross and offered to send medical teams with experience in dealing with water-borne diseases to the affected areas.

We may not be able to match them but at least we can make a token contribution to the American Red Cross and also offer some assistance in kind. Cynics will probably say, what can poor Bangladesh do to help the richest country of the world? The truth is that on occasions like this even a small gesture of friendship would go a long way in cementing the bond of cooperation and understanding between our two countries. After all, in this hour of great human tragedy, something is always better than nothing.

Syed Muazzem Ali, a former Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, sent this article the from United States.