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LEVELS OF COORDINATION FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL
Created by President Carter, the Federal Emergency Management Association's motto is “Helping people before, during and after disasters." (2) The Federal Emergency Management Agency is tasked with responding to, planning for, recovering from and militating against disasters. So do we read on the mission statement of the agency that became part of the Bush created Department of Homeland Security since March 2003?
9/11 was a man-made disaster. It was an attack which revealed a breach in the Homeland security system of America. A homeland security problem should be tackled at the security, intelligence level. Preventive actions can be taken; strong intelligence system should be put in place. Strong collaboration and flow of information should be passed among key levels of national organizations and institutions. But the Federal Emergency Management Association does not stand alone. It is true that the legal fact of putting the city under siege alerts immediately the federal institution to step in and to come to the rescue of the local institution. We did not see it on time and as expected! Katrina reveals systemic dysfunction between federal, provincial and local structures or institutions in America and may be in our democratic nations.
It is the City's responsibility to plan for evacuations in time such as Katrina. Also the city had records of people who are really needy in time of disasters. The City knew full well that it had a large population needing shelter that could not evacuate (otherwise, Mayor Nagin wouldn't have ordered people into the Superdome). But the City failed to have the necessary water, food and other supplies stocked and on hand to take care of those people. This is setting up shelter 101 and is something that could and should have been included in the shelter plan. We saw the photos of the buses which could have been used to evacuate people sitting idle. What did the Mayor do? How did the municipal government collapse so strongly? And when the city was under siege, why did the federal responses ot come on time!
Weber has convinced us that bureaucracy is the key for efficiency. That's why our system has become very bureaucratic. But do we still have the spirit behind Max Weber's sociology of bureaucracy?
RACIAL POLICY
When African leaders behave badly towards their own citizens and are sponsored and supported by western countries, champions of democracy and good governance, one can be astonished that good example are not duplicated and imposed upon pairs by droit d'ingérence. On the contrary, it looks like bad leaders from developing countries have strong supports from their western pairs in the name of non interference. Eyadema was a patent example and so was Mobutu. So is Kagame whose government has committed crimes against humanity, crimes of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The same attitude has been revealed in America through the Katrina hurricane. Black communities are hit, no one cares. No one cares to assist them immediately when they are deprived and impoverished by nature. No one cares! No one cares when it is time to care.
Since no one cares, we understand the state of anarchy into which the area sank: a crime, homicide, rapes, looting, despair and acts of barbarism.
Media has been a clear demonstration of the ambient racism in the world despite the last World summit against racism which took place in Cape Town, Africa. (3) Media have been reporting only comments on black people. After almost a week of starvation, those who went to take food from stores were differently portrayed. Blacks were looting, Whites were taking bread! The same point, two interpretations revealing the state of racism in our world. When Kanye West says it loudly, we hypocritically say he is being an extremist. But who is the hypocrite? Kanye West who truly says the message sent and is well perceived or the one who sends the message and who does not want others to talk about it.
We like their blues and jazz and hip pop but we don't like them! We have seen images of very disturbing emotions. We have seen Devonta, a six year old kid, saving five other children younger than him who he did not know. On the other hand, the government who has means, resources and power did not send relief when expected, did not plan when alerted. National mourning day and prayers were decreed. Prayers which talk but which don't walk is not Christian. The country was already under national mourning when Dr. Condolezza Rice was shopping ostensibly in Manhattan while her community was deprived of simple water! Private gesture, social interpretation! It reminds one of the Mississippi floods of 1927. (4)
POLITICS AGAINST EFFICIENCY
America has the most political patronage in the world. Mike Brown before his appointment as head of the Federal Emergency Management Association was, until last year, the head of a horse breeding association. He did not have any qualification or competence to take this position. But, since this job is a political patronized position, he got it. Since 2000, the Federal Emergency Management Association had its budget cut and senior officials have been forced to retire or have gone to other agencies. This has undermined the Federal Emergency’s capacity to respond effectively. Political patronage facilitates corruption in the American system because most of the people are appointed in public services without respecting the United Nation’s Convention Against Corruption which requires a public service being selected upon “merit, equity and aptitude”. (5)
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Yambwa, Nziya Jean-Pierre
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