Support Katrina, Rita survivors

WW photo: John Catalinotto

Survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and their supporters rallied nationally on Jan. 25-26 to demand the right to return to their homes in New Orleans and other areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast and to agitate for the passage of Senate Bill 1668, the Gulf Coast Recovery Act of 2007.

According to the New York Solidarity Coalition with Katrina and Rita Survivors, SB 1668 “is essential to guaranteeing our right to return because of its provisions for replacement of housing units, long-term recovery funds [and] prohibitions of demolitions of affordable and livable housing for the poor, low-income and moderate income” people.

Photo: Indymedia

In New York on Jan. 25, the coalition’s activists gathered outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office in Manhattan and got a good response from the many passers-by as they collected signatures on a petition urging Schumer and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to pass SB 1668.

The next day, in San Francisco, 200 protesters gathered in front of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s estate on the same issue. They were participating there in the World Social Forum’s Global Day of Action as well as promoting nationwide solidarity actions for Gulf Coast recovery.

See www.NYKatrinaRita.org for more information.

—John Catalinotto