SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 04/09/05

The Scottish Socialist Party today pledged to do everything in its power to hold the Bush administration to account for the scandalous treatment of hundreds of thousands of the poor and dispossessed of New Orleans and the other states hit by hurricane Katrina.
Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox MSP today said he was “absolutely sickened” by the failure of President Bush’s Republican administration to protect the sick, the elderly and the poor from the effects of the hurricane.
Colin said that the treatment of survivors was “a crime against humanity”.
Colin has visited the United States on a number of occasions and has spent time in the poorest areas of New Orleans.
Colin welcomed statements by the Presidents of Venezuela and Cuba, Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, pledging medical aid to the disaster area.
The MSP for the Lothians contrasted the bungled disaster relief operation with the ability of the US to move an entire army to the Middle East to invade Iraq in 2003.

Rosie Kane MSP has recently returned from attending a conference called by Cuban President Fidel Castro and added to Colin’s statement a series of points contrasting the way that the Cubans have dealt with 6 major hurricanes between 1996 and 2002 in which a total of only 16 people have died.

Colin said today;
“People all over the world will be absolutely sickened by the way the poor and dispossessed of New Orleans and the hurricane hit states have been treated by the Bush administration.
“The treatment of the survivors of hurricane Katrina is nothing less than a crime against humanity.
“It is clear that the US President who ordered an entire army and its logistical support to the Middle East for the invasion of Iraq does not give a cent for the lives of black and poor Americans.
“The Scottish Socialist Party adds its voice to the outrage that is sweeping the world at the images of the dead and dying left in mountains of rubbish at the New Orleans convention centre and corralled in the Superdome.
“The President of the world’s richest nation has made it quite clear that he regards the poor, the sick, the elderly and more particularly the black population of America as being not worth the effort to save from the absolutely horrific conditions following hurricane Katrina.
“I know the poor areas of New Orleans well and the people who live there are kind, generous and warm hearted.
“It breaks my heart to see them treated as animals by a President who should now be driven out of office by the American people.”

Rosie Kane added;
“I have recently returned from Cuba and the way that one of the poorest countries in the region deals with hurricanes stands in stark contrast to the catastrophe that has unfolded in the US.
“In the seven years between 1996 and 2002, six major hurricanes have hit Cuba, yet a total of only 16 people have died.
“Cuba has a strong well-organized civil defense, an early warning system, well-equipped rescue teams, and emergency stockpiles.
“Cuba mobilizes its community with solidarity as the watchword and a clear political commitment to safeguard human life.
“The population is “disaster-aware” and educated in the necessary actions to be taken in event of a disaster.
“For over 40 years the USA has tried to starve Cuba to death but it is now time for the US to end that war and learn from the principles of solidarity and commitment to human life that are the watchwords of Cuban society.”
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