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Open Letter: Demand for Relief to Evacuees of Hurricane Laura

An Open Letter to Governor John Bel Edwards & State Representatives

Governor John Bel Edwards 
Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder 
Senate President Page Cortez 
Senator John Kennedy 
Senator Bill Cassidy 

Dear Governor Edwards, Speaker of the House Schexnayder, Senate President Cortez, Senator  Kennedy, Senator Cassidy: 

The Louisiana Movement for Workers Councils condemns members of the Louisiana  State Legislature and U.S. Congress who, at this moment of crisis, are playing political games.  The special session is clearly more about expanding your power and privileges than it is about  expanding the unemployment fund or providing genuine hurricane relief to the tens of thousands  of Louisianans adversely affected by Hurricane Laura. 

You continue to ignore dire conditions of Hurricane Laura evacuees who need urgent  assistance with income, housing, jobs, mortgages, transportation, and food. The only relief that  has come through was announced for the sake of a photo op. Most aid has been delayed or  bogged down in bureaucratic red tape. Thousands have still not received SNAP, unemployment,  housing alternatives, or cash income.   

While you are renewing or issuing new tax exemptions to profitable corporations and  wealthy individuals, the working people of the affected parishes—on whose backs this state runs —have been left in the dust. 

We call for representatives of the Workforce Commission, SNAP, FEMA, and HUD to  station on-the-ground personnel and equipment. Representatives of these agencies must undo the  bureaucratic holdups by ensuring that: (1) FEMA pay out emergency money every day, all day;  (2) families have homes to stay in temporarily or permanently; (3) a housing repair fund is  provided for the thousands without insurance (because you have allowed insurance rates in  Louisiana to become the most unaffordable in the country); (4) children have computers and  reliable internet to attend classes.   

Every day we are reminded that the rich are getting richer while you ignore the workers’  needs in favor of your own narrow interests. Hurricane Laura has scattered people, leaving  thousands desperate. But folks are organizing. Your inaction and callous disregard will be  remembered.   

Sincerely, 

Louisiana Movement for Workers Councils

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Hurricane Laura Evacuees Need Federal Aid Now

by Conway Lebleu and Joseph Rosen

As of September 11, the mandatory evacuation of Calcasieu parish has been lifted. Still, Lake Charles looks like a war zone. Surrounding areas have also been devastated. Most places are without electricity and clean drinking water. Trees felled, roofs disassembled and detached. Some people have decided to leave, weary of destruction. Others would do the same but don’t have the means to get out of town. One resident reported staying on the porch of his friend’s home, fighting mosquitos and unable to sleep, because his own house was crushed. His phone was stolen, so he is depending on a cousin of a friend. They are both still waiting on FEMA to call them back.

A Lake Charles resident, Jennifer Fisher, described arriving in New Orleans without a place to stay: “we came for a voucher and they were out. We walked from hotel to hotel trying to find somewhere to stay. No help from FEMA. They just say call 211.”

“They’re telling me they’re going to assist me. I do everything I have to do. They sent me to SBA and they denied me a loan. How am I supposed to get a loan? I don’t have a job. I don’t have a car.”

As of September 10, FEMA had registered 131,000 Louisiana survivors of Hurricane Laura. Thousands have no housing except what they’ve secured through temporary vouchers or the help of families and friends. Another evacuee, Gabriel Raymond, put it plainly: “Just give me somewhere to stay. I can go to work. Just give me somewhere to sleep.”

Many homeowners cannot afford to repair their homes since only 20% of homes in the area are covered by insurance, and many can’t afford deductibles that often exceed 15 thousand dollars.

According to FEMA, 97 million dollars has been approved for individual and household assistance. The news station KATC claims that FEMA “distributed more than $89 million to residents.” This relief pales in comparison to the estimated $20 billion in damages incurred from the storm.

“We need help.” Fisher expressed frustration with the measly government aid. She pointed out that U.S. government had more than enough money to address people’s emergency needs if only the government put people over profits.

“Here go the president… He could do something. He did the most to try to build a wall.” In 2017 after Hurricane Maria took the lives of more than 5,000 people in Puerto Rico, Trump announced he was diverting $155 million from FEMA’s disaster relief fund to pay off his goons in the fascist Border Patrol as well as the companies that run for-profit concentration camps for ICE.

The U.S. government spends more than $1.2 trillion ($1,200,000,000,000) in tax dollars every year on war and repression. This money could be used to provide emergency relief to everyone affected by capitalist caused climate disasters.

Louisiana needs emergency funds NOW! Fund disaster recovery, not disastrous wars!

The New Orleans Workers Group demands:

  • Immediate federal relief funds to guarantee housing, food, and security to everyone affected by Hurricane Laura, regardless of documentation or citizenship status.
  • Expand hotel vouchers to include all evacuees and extend them indefinitely.
  • Federal home repair funds to cover what insurance doesn’t pay.
  • Living wage jobs program to assist with disaster recovery.
  • Bus and parking vouchers for all evacuees.
  • A moratorium on rent and mortgage payments for all evacuees.
  • Free healthcare services for all evacuees.