news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/4218536.stm
Gerald Coleman stands on his porch with flood water surrounding the house in New Orleans What will be the lasting effects of Hurricane Katrina? Search and rescue teams in New Orleans say thousands of survivors of Hurr icane Katrina still haven't left their homes. The city's Police Chief Eddie Compass told reporters that a "sensitive" a pproach would be used to remove people. As many as 10,000 people had refused to leave the flooded city despite th e mayor's compulsory evacuation order. President George W Bush has declared Friday 16 September a national day o f prayer and remembrance for the victims. Has the disaste r affected the way other countries view the US? The following comments reflect the balance of views received: The government might have failed but the people of America didn't John, Detroit, USA The government might have failed but the people of America didn't. We are as proud of our country as anyone in the world is. Our government is no t what (we the people) want it to be. You can bet your life it has chang ed the way we look at our government and the way it does business for it self and not for the welfare of its people. John, Detroit, USA It's alright saying Bush was slow to respond to help in New Orleans, but can you imagine us in England doing any better? David Parrott , Derby, England It took the EU 24 hours to get supplies to New Orleans once Bush had form ally requested it. How come it took a week for him to request outside he lp? And more importantly how could they respond in 24 hours while it too k a week for US teams to get to work? DW, Chicago, USA Bush leading the inquiry, that's going to be a fair and balanced exercise then. Dave Thawley, Blackpool In the USA it is widely believed that everything here is better than anyw here else, and there is little the rest of the world has to say of any r elevance. At a dreadful price, Katrina has brought some humility and per haps some soul-searching about embracing sustainable energy policies. Nic Oatridge, New York, USA Not even tragedy can beget sympathy when it comes to America Amy Watts, Austin, TX USA Would it really matter if the US changed? From the ignorant comments post ed here, it's obvious that we're damned no matter what course we take. N ot even tragedy can beget sympathy when it comes to America. But at leas t our suffering has allowed the rest of the world to feel better about i tself. No matter how much griping we do we can't change what happened. The question I ask m yself and I feel every human alive today should ask. Scott Moody, Tupelo, USA I think that the US has not changed but I am not saying that in a bad way . We are very concerned and worried about the people in the areas hit an d worried about the economy being able to take all the pressures that th is disaster unleashed. Dana, United States The devastation caused by Katrina has wrought havoc on the USA that may w ell ask some searching questions of America's economic and political sit uation for a long time. But that is not to say that Europe and Britain w ould be any better placed to handle a similar catastrophe. And to even t hink of suggesting that the rest of the world has no compassion for Amer ica right now is outright foolishness. People in the UK and I'm sure els ewhere are horrified at the extent of the damage and loss, and our sympa thies are with those affected and America as a whole. Rich, Liverpool, England Katrina's impact on our economy is not fully visible yet. We will learn i n the near future that gasoline must remain at a price that allows our c itizens to commute to work on a day to day basis. Unlike Europe the geog raphical setup of our communities is so spread out that walking to work is impossible. Public transport is also impractical in a country this va st unless you live in one of the megalopolis's. If gas remains this high small business is doomed and look for vast numbers of people to move in to urban areas. Zac Murray, Ada, OK Certainly the initial efforts to aid the victims of this disaster were po or. I am certain that the ball was dropped everywhere from the local gov ernments to the top of our government. For example our church organized the inter faith cou ncil of Houston to provide 9 million dollars and the 20,000 volunteers n ecessary to feed these victims for the next 30 days. Here are Baptist wo rking along side Muslims, etc to provide food essentials and spiritual s upport. Hal Doerr, Houston Texas It opened my eyes to how much compassion there is in this country for our neighbours Suzanne, Dallas, TX, USA It opened my eyes to how much compassion there is in this country for our neighbours. People immedia tely started giving goods, food, money and time to those in need. We wan t to help those who are suffering get back on their feet and know that i t will take people helping people to accomplish this. What other countri es think of us doesn't factor into what we know we must do. Suzanne, Dallas, TX, USA Anyone who has been to the South knows that race is a major, persistent i ssue. Anyone who thinks that Katrina has changed this is just ignorant. The US has never pretended that race and poverty have gone away as issue s, the rest of the world just never cared to notice until it was thrust onto their TV screens. The history of the US (indeed its original creati on) was based on friction between different levels of government. If Kat rina changes anything then hopefully it will be the stubborn pride of of ficials that hamstrings US bureaucracy. Neil, London I live in the state that suffered the most damage and I find it amusing h ow people from different parts of the world explain the problems and sit uations we face like they know what they're talking about. Everyone says that this storm has brought about so much racial divide and how it's al l Bush's fault. Stop blaming Bush for everything that ever happens in th e whole world. It's the responsibility of the local government to take c are of evacuations and damage control. People need to stop making everyt hing political because they've lost sight of what's actually real. Tyler, Jackson, Mississippi, US What is this gross misconception of America? Individuals, small businesses (mine just sent a semi l oad of 6000 clothing items). The blame, if any, lies with the mayor and governor or LA whose job it is to handle such an expected disaster. They are the problem, not the Americans who are driv ing night and day to help, sending money and needed products. We are Ame rica, we will come through in flying colours. Brigit, Chicago, USA It is time to focus on how to create a modern welfare state Moez Dharani, New York, USA The resilience of the American people and the will to overcome total deva station is evident from the efforts of so many people. What needs to cha nge is the general population's perception that somehow everything will be OK. Things will only improve if we in America understand that it is o ur duty at all times to think about the welfare of all our people at all times not just when a hurricane or earthquake hits one of our cities. I t is time to focus on how to create a modern welfare state that puts the needs of all Americans at high priority. Moez Dharani, New York, USA The Mayor of NO has no authority to order forced evacuation without a cou rt order. He cannot order a person that is not a public threat to vacate their own home. He cannot get a court order to do without showing that the person is a public threat. Even the governor and the President can't without the President suspending habeas corpus and that has only occurr ed once in our history and that was by Lincoln during the Civil War. Joe W, Westlake, Oh, USA Given the opportunity, some people will exploit any situation for persona l gain. They certainly expected people to be civil for four days while rescuing thousands of people across three stat es. Given the scope of the disaster, the blame can only fall on the Mayo r of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana for poor planning and inc ompetent leadership. Ed, Tampa, Florida This is neither America's tsunami nor a "Third World." The tsunami came w ithout a warning, Katrina cam...
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