La Raza critical of Hurricane response

Scripps Howard News Service reports on a recently-released study from the National Council of La Raza on the poor emergency response for Hispanic Katrina victims.

The article reports on disturbing issues such as the Director of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance begging a station in Gulfport to let her broadcast evacuation messages in Spanish since she said no efforts had been made by local officials to put out warnings and shelter information in Spanish. It wasn't until hours before the storm struck that the station finally televised the urgent message.

The study is critical of all layers of government and the American Red Cross for failing the Hispanic community both in preparations for the storms and in the response after hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit.

In my post "Red Cross, or Cruz Blanca" a few weeks back I addressed some of the issues at the Red Cross and how they were actively seeking ways to do something about it.

While most of the media attention has been given to the blacks who suffered, especially in the lower wards, it is important to note that the hurricanes did affect Hispanics. This was further complicated by the language issue.