Tribunal to seek justice for Katrina survivors

Two years have passed since Hurricane Katrina’s powerful winds and torrential rains blasted into the Gulf Coast, destroying cities and towns in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, causing the deaths of thousands then and since.

The damage from this monstrous storm was compounded by the breaching of the inadequate and ill-maintained levee system that was supposed to protect the city of New Orleans.

The whole world watched the horror unfold as incompetent and uncaring government agencies failed in countless ways to provide for those affected by Hurricane Katrina, letting the poor, elderly and sick die on rooftops, bridge overpasses, in hospitals and nursing homes, and prisons.

Men, women and children were confined in stadiums and convention centers for days without adequate water, food, ventilation, sanitation facilities and health services. Eventually they were dispersed randomly to 44 states across the country.

The suffering has continued with two years of broken promises, bureaucratic red tape, corporate and political corruption and cronyism, racist stereotyping and cruel indifference emanating from all levels of government, in particular from the Bush administration.

Two years have passed and still some 10,000 survivors live in cramped, toxic FEMA trailers.

Two years of trauma and loss and upwards of 300,000 people, mostly African Americans, still have not been able to return home because there is not enough affordable housing, insurance claims go unpaid, relief funds are undistributed, the medical, transportation and education systems are in shambles, and most available jobs are low-paying.

A line-up of presidential candidates including Barack Obama, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton are bringing their campaigns and cameras to the Gulf Coast during the days preceding the second anniversary of Katrina in search of the right “photo op” to accompany their sound bite for the evening news.

George W. Bush will also venture into New Orleans to tout the “progress” made since his similar assessment during a quickie stop on the first anniverary in 2006.

They all will no doubt miss the march on Aug. 29, starting in the devastated and neglected 9th Ward and moving to Congo Square, where New Orleans’ culture of community and resistance will be in full voice and visibility, demanding the right to return, restitution and human dignity.

Despite the concern professed by these politicians, none is likely to spend a minute at the International Tribunal on Katrina and Rita, scheduled from Aug. 29-Sept. 2 and designed to hear evidence of human rights violations presented by Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors as well as legal experts.

But delegations from 12 countries and activists from around the U.S. will be there. They want to hear testimony and view the evidence detailing the failures and crimes of federal, state and local governments to meet their responsibilities to the people of the Gulf Coast.

President Bush, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour have been officially notified that their actions and policies are the subject of the tribunal’s inquiries.

Citing the provisions of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant international agreements, the tribunal organizers, spearheaded by the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund, charge the U.S. government with crimes against humanity and genocide.

The multi-day program allows for testimony and evidence to be presented on dozens of issues of concern to the survivors, such as the treatment of prisoners, the abuse of immigrant labor, the conduct of police, soldiers and mercenary forces, and environmental racism.

The tribunal is proof of the determination of the survivors of Katrina and Rita to have a powerful voice in the reconstruction plan for the Gulf Coast.

Under the most difficult of situations during the last two years, many organizations, community associations and individuals have carried out demonstrations, protests and takeovers; initiated lawsuits; engaged directly in rescue and rebuilding efforts; and upheld the interests of working and poor people.

The tribunal will record their heroic efforts to bring a measure of justice to all those whose lives were torn apart by wind and water and then discarded by a capitalist system that puts profit above people’s needs.

Solidarity demonstrations are being held around the world on Aug. 29. The findings of the tribunal will also be the subject of a special program during the People’s Encampment to Stop the War at Home and Abroad, Sept. 22-29, in front of Congress.

For more information, go to www.katrinatribunal.org.