Eyewitness Harvey: Working-class rescue, gov’t neglect
Houston, Sept. 4 — The flood waters have not receded in parts of southwest Houston. Cities near the Louisiana border are still flooded. Things are easing up, but it’s certainly not over and won’t be for a long time. ...
There’s a lot on TV about Red Cross aid, but there are also people who have no paid staff, no funding, but are doing heroic work in the most oppressed communities. The National Black United Front here regularly does “Feed the Hood” events. So when they asked, donations came flooding in from around the country, including two full 18-wheelers from Dallas. Along with Black Lives Matter, RBG Unity and the JOHARA Initiative have worked for four days straight in the heat, humidity and mud to clean homes, feed people and leave them with water and supplies. ...
Prisoners are suffering because of the state and federal prison systems’ failure to plan for emergencies. Some prisons have been evacuated several times in the last few years. Yet it’s always the same — not enough water, no cots for evacuees and only peanut butter and bologna sandwiches.
According to prisoner and activist Nanon Williams, whom I visited yesterday, he and 580 other men are sleeping on a gym floor with ants, roaches and snakes crawling on them! ...
The Houston metropolitan area is home to more than 600,000 undocumented people. The fear of deportation has prevented untold numbers of them from seeking help or going to centers during the flood. More than 26,000 people are registered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and they now fear being deported if President Donald Trump ends DACA. ...
The one joy I’ve seen since Harvey is that working-class folks have done a massive job of rescuing people, without money or recognition. It’s the little neighborhood churches and community organizations; it’s places like S.H.A.P.E. (Self-Help for African People through Education) Community Center that are raising funds and helping people navigate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
