H16219
Headlines : Human RightsNew Orleans to demolish thousands of 'poor' homes
This story is being covered elsewhere on GNN, but it cannot receive too much coverage. As the citizens of New Orleans defend their common right to a home and, for those who will be forced to move away due to rising rents, their very right to live in their hometown, our utmost solidarity is required.
Protesters outside City Hall, New Orleans, 19 December 2007 (CNN)
Residents were trying to attend a City Council meeting on the fate of 4 housing projects, deemed to be irretrievably damaged by Hurricane Katrina. In an effort to prevent the meeting heading out of their control, the authorities resorted to taser guns and pepper spray.
Outside City Hall (BBC)
Republished from The Independent
In the face of violent protests, New Orleans City Council yesterday moved to demolish thousands of low-income houses as the city continues the agonisingly slow process or rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina.
Demolition crews will now move in to dismantle the 4,500 brick buildings that generations of poor people lived in. The outburst of violence came amid concerns that the authorities intend to reduce the numbers of predominantly poor, black people living in New Orleans.
“It is beyond callous, and can only be seen as malicious discrimination,” said Kali Akuno of the Coalition to Stop the Demolition. “It is an unabashed attempt to eliminate the black population of New Orleans.”
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to replace the units badly, which were old and in reed of demolition even before they were damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It intends to replace them with new mixed-income housing.
Posted by Szamko
Just tries to tell the truth.
RELATED ITEMS
- Demolishing Disaster Capitalism
Posted by ShiftShapers on Friday, December 21st 2007 - Police taser Katrina survivors in New Orleans
Posted by alexander on Thursday, December 20th 2007
So where do they expect all of those poor folk are going to stay through the demo and rebuilding? Do we really expect them to come through on their promises? I know the projects down in the south are in shambles, but people have to live somewhere right?
FEMA trailers laced with formaldehyde?
The New Orleans City Council has its plan and they seem keen to carry it out. The problem is that their priorities are wrong. They should be focusing on providing quality housing for the people without any accommodation. Instead they are intent on putting up new buildings because the federal government is offering tax breaks for developers who undertake this work. The protesters need a way of getting by the throat the City Council which is voting to keep poor people living rough. Are there electors in New Orleans who find this acceptable?
N.O. mayor Ray Nagin finds it acceptable.
Jesus, how the fuck else are they going to make the poor people leave? Gassing them just raises such a stink…
Thanks for the link, Rich. I took a look at the 66 comments. I can’t comment myself as I lack a U.S. zip code. It would be great if someone at GNN would get on to the NOLA site and point readers at Nathan Coe’s article. The video clips show that these are far from shiftless and ignorant people.
One of NOLA’s commentators makes a crucial point.
I would like to know where the protesters/occupants are expected to live while supposedly better housing is constructed. Do the people posting here really believe that they will be taken care of? Everything I have read and everything I have seen in person tells me that Katrina victims are being left to fend for themselves and that the federal and local governments are happy to see them suffer, as long as their own friends can get a share of the reconstruction contracts/profits. Are the public housing occupants guaranteed good housing now that the projects are being demolished?
However, most commentators have an anti-poor people, anti-black mindset and even those without these prejudices have bought in its entirety the story that the developments will solve the City’s housing problems.