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Storms revealed faces of poverty in U.S., bishop says

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A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose

Songbooks and pledge cards lie among the ruined furnishings of Hartzell Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Slidell, La.
Feb. 13, 2006

A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*

Hurricane Katrina blew the face off of poverty in the United States, revealing the plight of the poor in startling detail and forging a church group’s resolve to see that people of color are treated fairly in the rebuilding.

“We are closer to being a Third World country than one could ever imagine,” declared United Methodist Bishop Melvin G. Talbert.

Talbert, head of a special commission to advocate for the just rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, said the hurricane also showed “when people of color are involved, there isn’t immediate and careful attention given.”

The National Council of Churches created the Special Commission for the Just Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast in September, after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast Aug. 29 and Hurricane Rita added to the misery Sept. 24.

The commission was established by urgent action of the NCC’s governing board in September, and affirmed by its general assembly in November. The assembly directed the commission to “strive for the greatest degree of coherence and comprehensive efforts in our rebuilding the Gulf Coast communities and in addressing the human inequities which exacerbated a natural disaster into wholesale calamity.”

The NCC’s member faith groups — including the United Methodist Church — represent 45 million people in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.

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Bishop Melvin G. Talbert
Talbert said the commission’s “enormous title” might sound like the commission was in charge of the rebuilding effort. “That is far from being the truth, but we have to state that as our goal,” he said.

“The church doesn’t begin to possess the kind of money that’s needed to rebuild,” he said. “What we have is a moral and spiritual influence.”

Visiting New Orleans in November, the Louisiana native said he was struck by the “stunned silence.”

“The disaster is just beyond comprehension,” he said. “It’s impossible to explain it; you have to see it to really know it. Going through those communities, it was stunned silence — nothing moving, nothing happening.”

During its Jan. 25-26 meeting in Washington, the commission met with Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and voted to support his call for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s removal from under the Department of Homeland Security.

Lott and the commission agree moving FEMA would help the agency respond better to natural disasters and prevent the types of tragedies experienced with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“We had an interesting conversation with a FEMA person who was very forthcoming in conversation and was not trying to apologize,” Talbert said. “FEMA is in trouble because it is under the Department of Homeland Security.” Most of the funds in Homeland Security are being diverted to fighting terrorism, and FEMA money is being decreased, not increased, Talbert said.

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A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose

Snapped pine trees and a ruined roof show the wind power of Hurricane Katrina in Ocean Springs, Miss.
The commission is advocating for a review of the policy that is forcing the eviction of hurricane evacuees living in hotels and motels. The latest deadline, set by the federal government, is March 1. Recipients of such disasters normally have a year to get back on their feet, Talbert noted.

Another issue of concern for the commission is the role and position of the Red Cross as a first responder.

“What we are discovering is that Red Cross really has not been doing its work according to the standards that it has set for itself,” he said. “As first responders, the Red Cross has freedoms other agencies do not have. We are just saying we need to take a fresh look at things.”

The next step for the 17-member commission is to break up into smaller groups and move across the Gulf Coast, talking to the “movers and shakers” to find out ways churches can be involved in rebuilding.

“We need to find out ways we as religious people can be at the table where these decisions are made so our voice and response can be (a) real representation of what’s happening and not just simply a reaction to what we hear from other people,” he said.

Talbert said the commission wants to make sure local contractors and local workers are not cut out of the job market like they were when the first wave of workers arrived to put tarps on roofs.

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose

Ruined furnishings from the Gimme a Break daycare center in Slidell, La., await disposal following Hurricane Katrina.
Officials in charge of the rebuilding “went to South America to import people in here that they treated like pigs,” he said. The workers were kept in the trailers of 18-wheeler trucks just long enough to get the work done, and then they were shipped back to South America.

The commission will also be looking into just and fair practices by insurance companies as people try to rebuild their homes.

“We as a commission are not taking the position that everyone has to be returned,” he said. “We are very much aware that the bowl — that section of New Orleans where everything flooded — will not be reoccupied.”

The FEMA officials the commission met with in Washington said 17 postal ZIP codes in New Orleans have been identified as places where occupants will not return, but no one is sharing information on what these postal ZIP codes are.

“The concern we have is how do we get in and start talking to these people who are making these decisions and say, ?You can’t keep this a secret. You are going to have to tell these people so that they can be helped in finding where they are going to be living in the future.’”

Talbert said it has been the faith communities that have been on the ground meeting the needs of those who are suffering since the storms hit.

The government is paying for people to live in certain places, but it is the faith groups like the United Methodist Committee On Relief that are really on the scene doing what needs to be done, he said.

“I am heartened by that,” Talbert said. “I think that we need to continue to do that for the months ahead and for the years ahead because many people are suffering and their lives will never be the same, but they can find some meaning and purpose if we step up to the plate and do what we can do to help.”

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

Audio Interview with Bishop Melvin Talbert
“Poverty is not decreasing.”
“Faith communities are responding.”
Related Articles
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NCC special commission calls for FEMA independence
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Bishops view hurricane’s devastation, help clean up houses
Resources
National Council of Churches
Hurricane Relief Resources