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Respected by some, feared by others, fascinating all, America today raises a lot of questions about his leadership around the world. Some facts seem to question his real capacity to play alone his recognized world leadership role. His quest in space through NASA is slowing down while his European counterpart has, again, registered a successful mission. 9/11 attacks revealed a Colosses aux pieds d'argile. However, the war in Iraq amidst diplomatic frustrations and international values relativisation, has confirmed America's military capacity and supremacy in conducting a high tech war.
On the other hand, Iraqi scenes of killings and insecurity show also that being able to conduct war does not necessary infer an ability to maintain peace. Now also, Katrina comes in to raise lots of questions acknowledged by the current President George W. Bush.
Accused of imperialism by some, seen by others as fighting the just war of Counter-Terrorism USA acknowledged role is still bringing a lot of controversies and discontentment around the world.
Our effort today is to look at the questions Katrina raises about America and par ricochet about each and every country's capacity to read, plan and manage natural disasters. This quest, for sure, will not be apologetic but does not aim to be doleful. It aims at raising some issues and preparing us to find sustainable solutions to prevent natural disasters and also to manage man-made ones.
VERBA VERSUS RES
A lot has been said already. But what are the main revelations brought by Katrina? Someone had the audacity to compare the New Orleans’ anarchy to Darfur! We felt uncomfortable with this comparison; we felt that the two are incomparable to Katrina. At least that an African failure could not be compared to American mess! But it depends on from where we stand to look at this disaster. The fundamental difference is that one is man-made or started by human beings who are expected to be reasonable and the other is a natural disaster or caused by nature, by Mother Nature. My concern here is HOW DO WE READ, PLAN AND RESPOND TO A DISASTER WHENEVER IT IS MAN-MADE OR NATURAL? How are we preventing a disaster caused by men (which we expect to be reasonable as stated by Aristotle) or by our mother nature (who is blind)? Can someone look at the New Orleans situation and compare it to Darfur in terms of politic empathy, mismanagement and lack of ethical commitment? Can we compare the despair, anarchy and state insensitiveness of these two parts of region?
A lot has been said about the disaster in New Orleans, whose 67% population is black and whose budget was cut by 44 millions to profit to the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) despite its dangerous location below the sea level. Let me put it differently. Mutatis muntandis. What if this disaster was in Wisconsin? Could we expect the same level of mismanagement? What if this disaster happened in Detroit? Would it have been mismanaged like in New Orleans?
My deep feeling is that human life should be respected and protected. It is the role of our modern States to foster this fundamental right and to make it real. Why is it that this Credo was not respected? Where did we go wrong and what should we fix so that it does not happen again?
New Orleans is another illustration of America's paradox:
“South Louisiana is the anchor of America's Energy Coast, securing more than three-quarters of U.S. offshore oil and gas production -- a greater share of our nation's energy supply than even the kingdom of Saudi Arabia accounts for. The ports of south Louisiana, including New Orleans, are America's gateway to the world, handling more than 20 percent of U.S. imports and exports each day, including more than 70 percent of all grains as they move from farms across the nation to markets overseas. And 40 percent of the seafood consumed by Americans each year comes through coastal Louisiana!” (1)
SUSTAINABLE POLICY
If the Tsunami took us by surprise, Katrina was predicted and was preceded a year before by the Hurricane Ivan. Ivan confirmed that New Orleans should be re-built and protected at a cost of 14 billion dollars. This proposal was not approved by the Government who found it too expensive and maybe not worthy. Today, analysis says that we will need 200 billion dollars to rebuild New Orleans whose water has become very toxic and contaminated. The question may be “Should New Orleans be rebuilt at the same location or be relocated?
The rich and prosperous Companion town of Pompeii was buried by the volcano Vesuve in 98 AD. Today, Katrina has shown us that we have to be prudent and read signs she sends to us.
Seniors citizens were abandoned in their bedrooms; sick people were left in their rooms of hospital rooms by usually dedicated personnel. Policemen did not have any choice rather than protecting and saving their own life and their families. Katrina has revealed that when one's life is in danger there is hardly place for heroism. Emmanuel Kant's ethics of duty has been defeated because there was no policy to sustain act of heroism or ethics of duty.
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Yambwa, Nziya Jean-Pierre
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