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Posts Tagged ‘hurricane’

Wilma: What Worked, What Didn’t

11:34 am By Maegan La Mala · Florida| Miami · Comments Off

31 Oct 2005

As the Miami New Times cover shows in this post’s photo, Wilma is not one of our favorites down here. In Miami, exactly one week after Hurricane Wilma hit, I am reflecting on what went well and what didn’t.

From Miami, After Wilma

3:18 pm By Maegan La Mala · Miami · 5 Comments

26 Oct 2005

flags colonial bank.jpg Our readers might have noticed a decrease in posts in the last couple of days. As many of you know, I am located in Miami, which recently got a good hit from Hurricane Wilma.

The eye of Hurricane Wilma crossed the state of Florida in just 6 hours on Monday, and with that, I believe that about 4 million homes across the state lost power. In just Miami, Broward, & Palm Beach counties here in South Florida, we still have about 2.4 million homes/businesses without power. (I’m one of them.) But I’m one of the lucky ones. I have water, and I don’t have to boil it before I drink it, as most people in Broward & Miami Beach do. I didn’t have my windows blown out from the pressure or flying debris. My roof didn’t collapse. But many others weren’t so fortunate.

“Losing” New Orleans to Mexicans: the debate goes on

12:00 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Politics · 1 Comment

25 Oct 2005

solidarity new orleans.jpg San Diego Tribune writer Ruben Navarrette has something to say about Mayor Nagin’s distress over New Orleans being “overrun by Mexicans” as a result of an influx of migrant workers to the area for clean-up efforts post-Katrina:

Before Katrina, New Orleans was only about 3 percent Latino. Now, demographers say the city’s Latino population could swell to four or five times that amount.

That comes as a bolt of bad news for black leaders nostalgic for a city and a culture that for all practical purposes no longer exists…Nagin told reporters that his new worry is how he is going to “ensure that New Orleans is not overrun by Mexican workers.”

The thing is, many of the city’s former residents say that they have no desire to go back.

So why is he looking a gift horse in the mouth? Here Nagin is having trouble getting people to move to New Orleans, and there’s one group that’s already doing it. They’re ready to work hard, pay taxes and build a new New Orleans.

I, as a native Louisianian, will be the first to say that I would be saddened by the loss of any piece of New Orleans’ culture, and as person of color would be doubly saddened by the disappearance of the black community’s contribution to the richness of the city. But why does the influx of Latino workers have to necessarily mean the disappearance of black culture and the “real” New Orleans?

While I agree with Navarrette’s fury over comments by Mayor Nagin (that I myself have qualified as racist on this blog), I disagree with him on the fact that black culture in the city “for all practical purposes no longer exists”. The essence of New Orleans will exist forever, no matter who occupies the city. Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, boasts cultural and historical richness unparalleled by any other state in the nation, and a huge part of that has to do with people of black and creole heritage. In my opinion, people may leave New Orleans, but that will remain, and the call for prodigal sons to return will continue. A recent New York Times article talked about the “exiles” of Katrina, mostly working-class blacks who, forced to migrate to be able to sustain themselves, have found that life outside of the state is very different. It’s because Louisiana is a special place. It has its own culture and people will return. I believe this.

Beyond my own predictions, why is it so hard for Nagin and Jackson to swallow the fact that Latinos will inhabit New Orleans? The same thing has happened gradually in every state in the country and none of these places have “lost their identity” as a result.

Via / Newsleader.com

Looking out for number one

4:35 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Florida| Immigration · 1 Comment

24 Oct 2005

Latino migrant workers are doing just that in the wake of hurricane Wilma’s path through Florida. Thousands of workers far from home have no transportation means to leave the affected areas, nor do they have access to emergency assistance given their legal status. From the Talahassee Democrat:

But perhaps a bigger worry is what happens after the hurricane passes: Illegal workers do not qualify for most government disaster assistance like cash vouchers or temporary housing — already a crucial issue in Immokalee — and many are unaware of other relief outfits or are too fearful to ask. After Hurricane Charley rampaged through Southwest Florida last year, fewer migrant workers than expected showed up at disaster relief stations for help.

People are also afraid of government agencies sharing their information with immigration officials, risking deportation. With no real support system, all these people can do is huddle together and hope for the best:

“If it comes, I suppose we’ll go to the school,” said Reina Garcia, 33, who is from Huehuetenango, in Guatemala’s highlands, and lives in a ramshackle trailer with six others. Asked how she would get there, she laughed, flashing silver-capped front teeth, and replied, “We’ll run.”

…mainstream media is obsessed with covering the devastation of Wilma in Mexico via the inconveniences it has caused tourists.

As my colleague focused on in her post from this morning, mainstream media is obsessed with covering the devastation of Wilma in Mexico via the inconveniences it has caused tourists.

I’m glad the Talahassee Democrat has turned the tortilla to focus on what is happening to Latinos here in the U.S. They don’t have a vacation to have it ruined. They don’t have a dime to their names. All they can do is look out for themselves.

Via The Talahassee Democrat / Hispanic Tips

Hurricanes: Not Just for Tourists Anymore

8:53 am By Maegan La Mala · mexico · 1 Comment

24 Oct 2005

With Hurricane Wilma battering its way through Florida as I write this, the focus has quickly shifted from the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico where at last count at least 8 people are dead. One would think that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the English language mainstream media would be more aware or at the very least, cautious, in how it covers such natural disasters and the populations impacted. As I watched CNN throughout the weekend I saw mostly North American tourists complaining about having to sleep next to urinals in their fancy hotels. Yesterday tourists being filmed waiting in line for food complained about not showering for four days. The question that weighed heavy in their minds and across the screen was, when the airports would open so that they could get the hell out.

The question that loomed in my mind was and the residents of Cancun, the workers that service these tourists , the ones that can’t escape and their families and their homes? I would have to switch over to the Spanish language news to find out about them. Univision interviewed families returning to their homes or what was left of them after Wilma. It was only here and on Telemundo where one could see brown faces crying. According to today’s L.A. Times an estimated 15,000 people are left homeless by the storm and 90% of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo remains without power.

The region, which relies heavily on tourist dollars, certainly has taken an economic hit because of the hurricanes this season. Wilma struck hardest along a 14-mile stretch of high-rise hotels that spans Cancun’s south coast. Early estimates have the damage estimated at tens of millions of dollars. According to Mexico’s secretary for the environment and natural resources the heavy construction and demand to further develop tourist areas weakened the city’s natural storm barriers and might have contributed to the serious flooding.

The coverage now turned to Florida and of course looters in Mexico, one is left wondering if the U.S. will return the favor of at the very least sending personal down to the Yucatan, the way Mexico sent people up to the Gulf Region after Katrina.

Via / L.A. Times and Univision

Mexico: Recovering from Stan, Gibson Donates, Wilma Is Coming, MTVLA VMA’s Cancelled

4:47 pm By Maegan La Mala · mexico · Comments Off

19 Oct 2005

BIG BAD STAN
Mexico, still recovering from Hurricane Stan, suffered over 30 deaths from mudslides & flooding – and although it endured many less deaths as compared to El Salvador & Guatemala, recovery is still taking a long time.

An El Universal article tells us that with all of the flooding in Chiapas, kids are missing school. The reason: the school buildings have literally floated away. In addition to that, the communities and families have lost everything else, as is common in floodings: books, uniforms, school supplies.

GIBSON IN TOWN, DONATES $1 MILLION
Today Mel Gibson met briefly with Mexican President Vicente Fox, and offered to donate $1 Million USD to help the victims of Hurricane Stan. Gibson is currently in Mexico filming his new movie Apocalypto which takes place 3,000 years ago and will be filmed completely in the Mayan language.

WILMA!
Meanwhile, Wilma has become a much stronger storm than was anticipated. President Fox has stated that the Yucatan region is prepared, has declared a state of emergency and elevated the warning level to orange. Evacuations of coastal areas have begun and all tourists have been encouraged to go home.

Already blamed for several deaths, Wilma will affect many countries in Central America & the Caribbean, even if it doesn’t make landfall. The amount of rains and winds that it will bring just from being close by is expected to cause quite a bit of damage.

MTV LATIN AMERICA VMA’S CANCELLED
The MTVLA VMAs that were originally scheduled to occur on Thursday and were later moved up to Wednesday due to Hurricane Wilma, have now been cancelled. Citing safety reasons, as well as show integrity (cancellations of performers, etc), as the reasons. Good call MTV. Maybe the show dates should be played around with a bit, because the recent VMAs in Miami were affected also by Hurricane Rita.

El Universal: Classes disrupted by flooding in Chiapas
MTVLA VMA Cancellation
Follow Wilma’s Path

It’s True: Where IS All of the Coverage on the Disaster in Latin America?

10:47 am By Maegan La Mala · Latin America| Media| mexico · 2 Comments

11 Oct 2005

I just read a great article entitled, Central American Flood, Where is the Coverage?, discussing the flooding from Hurricane Stan in Mexico & Guatemala and the lack of press attention in the US. I have to say that this is something that has been bothering me for some time, and I’m glad someone has taken the lead in discussing it. Hundreds have died and thousands are in great need.

I’m not even going to summarize it…just recommend that everyone go read the article. It’s time that the US start paying attention to the rest of the world, as they pay attention to us. It’ll come back to bite us sooner than many think.

Central American Flood: Where is the Coverage?
Via / HispanicTips

Mexico Quake: Remembering 20 Years Ago

2:46 pm By Maegan La Mala · mexico · Comments Off

19 Sep 2005

Today marks the 20th anniversary of a tremendous earthquake that shook Mexico City and took over 9,500 lives and 250,000 homes. It was one of those horrible events that you remember. One of those few days in history that anyone from Mexico City can tell you where they were, who they were with, and what they were doing.

I live in Miami, and although many people may not realize it, we were the first recipients of Hurricane Katrina. I’ve never seen so many downed trees in my life. Trees big and small completely uprooted. And although some time has passed, I can still see one of these trees from my window.

I lost power for 5 days. I never understood what that was like before. It’s not fun. Now I’m not comparing my experience to the tragedy that occurred in the Gulf Coast…but through the days and weeks following the storm, I couldn’t help but think about Mexico, a country that I lived in just a few months ago.

I saw the amount of work that went into the clean up here. It still continues, as a matter of fact. But here we have plenty of chainsaws, big cranes and dump trucks, and basically any kind of machinery you can think of that makes lots of these jobs a lot easier.

In Mexico, most work is done manually. Houses are built brick by brick. And if those bricks need to be brought up to a 2nd story, they are usually brought up one by one. Trees are cut down with regular handsaws. Why? I guess because people are less expensive than machines.

Through this thought process, I had to wonder, how would Mexico be able to handle this kind of damage? It’s one of those things that you wish you never find out the answer. Twenty years ago Mexico experienced a horrible earthquake. As with Hurricane Katrina, it is sad to see that the poor were the most badly affected. Today we remember the lives that were lost, and hope that everyone is better prepared for the future.

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