Hurricane Katrina, The Environment, and Biloxi
In his book, The Quest for Environmental Justice, Robert Bullard writes about the significant environmental and racial problems facing the Deep South, especially in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In February 2007, I went on a trip to Biloxi, Mississippi to help rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. I found that many of the issues that Bullard brings up in his book are exactly what I experienced and observed in Biloxi.
One of the first things that I noticed about Biloxi was the extraordinarily high level of poverty. Even before Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast, especially Mississippi, was one of the poorest places in the country. The Gulf Coast had one of the highest levels of chronic disease in the nation. “Communities populated by low-income groups and people of color of exposed to higher levels of pollution than the rest of the nation, and that these populations experience certain diseases in higher numbers.” (Bullard, 4). One of the major problems that the poor neighborhoods in Biloxi faced after Katrina was the lingering effects of chemicals, toxic items, and human feces that contaminated the entire city after the Hurricane destroyed septic tanks, factories, and gas stations. The more affluent, and whiter, areas of the city were cleaned up first, while the poorer, and blacker, areas were cleaned up last. Many black residents got sick from the long-term exposure to broken sewers and chemical spills. I worked mostly in the poorer neighborhoods simply because there was so much work that needed to be done in those areas, even a year and a half after Katrina hit.
Another accurate observation that Bullard makes is that the poverty in the South is very exploitable. “A colonial mentality exists in the South, where local governments and big business take advantage of people who are politically and economically powerless … It is our nation’s Third World, where political bosses encourage outsiders to buy the region’s human and natural resources at bargain prices.” (Bullard, 88). In the wake of Katrina, Biloxi was in desperate need for jobs and new businesses. In order to attract more companies, the city lowered many of its health and zoning standards. Entire neighborhoods are now being bought up at extremely low prices, and then being bulldozed to make space for shopping centers. Currently, in the middle of the poorest part of the city, there is a massive new casino. At the time when I was there, two new factories were being built in the east part of the city. While these new businesses offer thousands of jobs to the desperately poor residents of Biloxi, the companies now have significant influence with the city government. This means that safety and health regulations, as well as zoning laws regarding the proximity of factories to residential areas, will be negatively affected.
While I observed many of the same problems that Bullard discusses, I feel that, realistically, there is little that can be done to help Mississippi and the rest of the South. Poverty, unemployment, and substandard education are issues that have deeply entrenched themselves in the South. Just as it took Southern cities more than a century to change their racist policies after the Civil War, I believe that it will take many years for true socio-economic and environmental change to take place.
3 comments:
I've been on similar trips before and have seen the same thing. It is sad that these people have received hardly any help despite all of the time that has past. It is also sad that poverty has been so ingrained in these communities that help might not always work and these people will continue to be exploited. It will definitely take a long time for these communities to receive adequate help.
I believe it is a sad, dark and humiliating fact that humanity accept, or at least turn a blind eye to such exploitation. In my opinion it is unacceptable that such a thing exist in a nation that claims to be ‘first world.’ Such a nation should ensure that all its people live happy and comfortable lives. How first world is a nation that simply hides the suffering of its people. The exploitation of the poor in the US is a blatant human rights violation. It is imperative that a nation as powerful and exemplary as the US should be at the forefront of such issues. Where I come from poverty is a wide-ranging dilemma. It is sadly expected that in a third world country the poor are the forgotten are the exploited ones. However, in a nation such as the US, no one should be left behind. The abuse of human rights should be unacceptable no matter what the interests of a particular nation are. It is up to the international community to demand that exploitation and the abuse of the poor be stopped.
This is a perfect example on how there can be Third World conditions in a First World country. The United States is a vastly powerful country with immense resources. To see such a disparity in the rich in and the poor is truly unnerving; especially in a country that takes pride in its capitalistic standpoints. This country allegedly spends tremendous amounts of money in outreach programs and work programs, and yet, so many cities are in a state of necrotic decay. The fact that the government has looked the other way while people live in such miserable conditions is an unforgivable act. However, the government has the ability to save these towns. Yes it will take time and money, but is it better to write off these poor societies like the way we have written off countries as ‘failed’. Are places like Sumter County Alabama, and the poorer African American neighborhoods of Houston ‘failed’? People live in unacceptable conditions for a First World country, and something must be done to change this.
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