Sunday, January 08, 2006, 22:46
While working in Southern Louisiana, we had the privilege of meeting and working with several local fisherman. What a unique and little known corner of our american economy....;)
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Louisiana's commercial fishing industry produces 25 percent of all the seafood in America. The fisherman in Plaquemines Parish and St. Bernard's Parish ALONE create over $400 million a year in taxable revenue. It was not until traveling into their very backyards (or, back "waters") that we began to realize the enormity of their loss. The entire fishing industry here has been COMPLETELY compromised by hurricane Katrina.
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Not only have their ships been destroyed- some groups have declared local waters to be unfishable for years to come.
George Barishich is the president of the U.C.F.A. (United Commercial Fisherman's Association). Despite the loss of his livliehood, George's family has rallied around him as he fights to bring the fishing industry back to its feet.
Tom and Dorothy Nguyen are also doing their best to keep their heads above water. Tom and Dorothy have two sons; one of whom is soon to be deployed to Iraq. All they ask is a helping hand- Someone to help them get their boat back in the water and fishing once again....given the circumstances I don't think this is to much to ask...BUT HELP HAS YET TO MATERIALIZE.
Given the lack of response from the local government, or insurance carriers, US Coast Gaurd is using a crane to lift boats from the river banks, bayous, and shallow bays. Basically, whatever they can reach with the crame. Unfortuantely, a lot of boats are being destroyed in the process. Many of the large fishing vessels will need to be hoisted from above using large slings that attach to the hull in multiple places. Remember, the water reached up to 35ft so many boats were washed inland. This is a costly remedy, that in all likliehood requires the use of a twin-rotor helicopter. In some areas like St. Bernard's, a lot of boats survived the storm but the fisherman are faced with record high fuel prices and rock bottom shrimp prices causing their boats to stay tied up. The major dilemma the oyster industry is facing is the increase in the number of shrimpers becoming full-time oyster harvesters. Another option is for the displaced shrimpers enter the crab industy in a last ditch effort to even survive. The last resort is bankruptcy. Unfortunately, no one at a Federal level has stepped up to answer many of these concerns.
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As we head south we will keep you updated on our effort to help George and the fishermen of St. Bernard's and Plaquemines Parish.
Below is a letter written by George, on behalf of the fisherman's association, to sanctioned members of the US and local governments:
The united commercial fishermen's association on behalf of
the surviving commercial fishermen, respectfully requests some
immediate assistance in the following areas. We request these so our
fishermen who are able to go back to work can go and we can start to
re-stimulate the economy of the costal parishes as we have done for
generations.
1)Dredge out the violet canal to the Mississippi River Gulf outlet to
allow the remaining vessels safe ingress and digress into the port.
2) Dredge out and remove the debris in Shell Beach Bayou and Hopedale
Bayou so our boats can safely bring in products and get the fresh,
safe, domestic seafood to the processors and restaurants.
3)Expedite the funding to rebuild the fuel dock in Shell Beach,owned by
Frank Campo (Blackie), to get potable water as soon as possible in
Shell Beach.
4)Expedite the funding for rebuilding the ice house in Yscloskey, owned
by Marty Nunez and family located in St.Bernard Parish.
5)Permanent suspension of the T.E.D. regulations:
(A) Turtle populations and nesting sites now outnumber-commercial
trawlers.
(B) Excess debris from the storms will be moving around for the next
year.
(C) The increase in catch without the T.T.D.'s will offset some of the
high fuel prices and low shrimp prices.
6)NEED to get a fuel subsidy or low cost fuel to to help fisherman
obtain a large enough profit-margin to rebuild their business and homes.
7)Establish a price support program to offset the rock bottom market
price for the domestic shrimp harvest with a moratorium on the number
of shrimpers until the price comes up to a fair market value for
domestic shrimpers.
8)For over 12 years U.C.F.A. has been the voice of the commercial
fishermen helping both the fisherman understand the laws and the
government understand why they are unwarranted and are also killing our
industry. The U.C.F.A. office was totally destroyed, so we need
financial support to help the industry rebuild to the point where it
can once again fund its own association. If possible please include a
grant to the united commercial fisherman's association so we can
locate our fishermen and keep them informed of the progress and and
programs that may help them recover.
** If you have any questions on any of these requests please call
George at (504)-439-2013**
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( 3.1 / 2201 )Saturday, December 17, 2005, 18:05
We apologize that it’s taken some time to get an update posted...CAN-Do is on the ground across Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. We continue to network with fellow aid groups whom share our goal of of revitalizing these crippled communities. In addition we seek to bring important issues to the attention of the media.In the past I have grown frustrated with the media for not reporting on the people here. I am still shocked at the lack of media coverage that is long over due. Residents we talk to (especially in Mississippi) are outraged that the media has stopped reporting. Not only is there very little coverage of Mississippi in general, but the media continues to focus on New Orleans. Not only is this irresponsible reporting- the media is now perpetuating this false sense of security that things are okay in other regions of the gulf. Things are far from OK here! The aftermath of this disaster doesn't end at the end of Bourbon Street...Although, we see Anderson Cooper quite a bit doing his live shot from Bourbon St. I think (within his limitations) he is doing the best he can reporting on the chaos. I just hope he keeps it up.
We have just returned from an area of S. Louisiana that is still waiting for aid to reach them ten weeks later. How is this possible? How is it possible that Plaqueimins Parish, (a rural county of 26,000), only one hour south of Louisiana is still battling for ice and water? They still do not have electricity, sewage, water, shelter, and the basics. They are no better now than days after Katrina.
The sad thing is this is just one example of thousands of cases that are being overlooked.
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We ended up in the rural S. Louisiana parish quite by accident:
Our networking led us to a man by the name of John from "American Friends Committee Association" that is based out of Philadelphia. They informed us of an area southeast of New Orleans on Rt. 23, "Plaquemines Parish". Following their lead we ended up in Buras on Highway 11. This was a highly restricted area with many checkpoints. We drove down Highway 11, again shocked by the level of destruction.
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Each time we travel south the ante is upped: this was yet another area completely flattened by Hurricane Katrina and later, Rita. There is nothing left. Only standing trees and very few frames of houses are left. The main difference between this area and others that we had seen is that there was no sign of relief workers in the area. Not one sign of a distribution center or military presence. Even though we had to go through several checkpoints to get to this area, there was no sign of an effort to help these survivors. Dead cows on the side of the road, dead horses hanging from trees, sign of life was scarce. The first people we saw we pulled over to ask them if we could help them.
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Byron and Kelly Marinovich lived on Highway 11 since their teens. These two along with the rest of the parish have lost every bit of history that had been passed down to them by their families. They had built up a small restaurant/bar business called "The Black Velvet". They also pointed out a little shop across the street next to their home, or what was left of it. We looked politely, but I could see no sign of a dwelling. The home itself had been turned from west to north and moved 20 feet back from its foundation. The bar and restaurant was completely flattened, basically there was nothing left of their property that they could salvage. Something was a little different about this story than the rest of the survivors applying for a FEMA trailer. Byron and Kelly had applied for a trailer three days after Katrina had hit. It was seven weeks later when they received a letter from FEMA informing them that they had been rejected for any assistance and were not qualified for a trailer.
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By looking around you could imagine that we were as surprised as they were that "they did not have enough damage" or were rejected by FEMA for any assistance. This particular story has baffled us the most. Byron and Kelly are quite unassuming and would like to see just someone to come down to their area with some relief. There were no state, local, federal, or government agencies in sight or anyone well else helping with any basic needs. Byron told us "I would like to see anything come down here, ice, food, water. We still have no electricity or running water, we are sleeping in our tent, we had to steal a port-o-potty, and there is no way for us to take a shower! If anything if you can't help us than help our neighbors. We are all in the same boat and have nothing left. We're not angry just devastated at our loss and the lack of help from any government or relief effort."
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On a personal note, we were extremely moved by Byron and Kelly's story. They are one of the sweetest couples that we have met. They have lost absolutely everything! They were four months away of paying all of their mortgages for their businesses off. They are trying desperately filtering through their rubble to salvage what is left. After such a passage of time they were certain that aid had simply passed them by- we were glad to prove them wrong!
Byron and Kelly have the only property with a pile of rubble at the end of their property that they themselves have started by hand. It took them 10 days to clear their "slab" with only a wheel barrel, a shovel and a rake. A quote that Byron left us when we asked what the immediate needs that we could bring to him and his wife besides ice and water, "I'll take anything from tampons to dynamite, we have nothing, anything for me or my neighbors!"
On Nov 8th we arrive in Plaqueamines Parish, to distribute our donations. We met Kelly and Byron at their former residence to set up our makeshift distribution site in Buras. The day was filled with locals taking their personal needs. Kelly told us "you can tell the ones who have lost everything because they will only take what they truly need.
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It has been three weeks since we were last here and the relief efforts have slowly filtered in, or so they did for about two weeks. The day after our first delivery we rang Byron and Kelly up to see how the distributing was going. Much to everyone's dismay, they informed us that the government pulled out all of their ice and water trucks, which were supplied to the area only two weeks prior. The governor had informed the parish that the relief efforts were no longer necessary!
So we, along with Byron and Kelly, have decided to take matters into our hands and do whatever is in our power to help this parish. We are begining to help Byron and Kelly's get their business back up and running. With our new distribution site we have been able to provide to the locals trying to move back into their community. Buras still does not have electricity, running water, sewage, and now no form of relief efforts.
After successfully setting up our distribution site on Byron and Kelly's property we were told of an area just south of Buras... Venice Louisiana. This area is a fishing community at the southern tip of Louisiana, which had also been "overlooked". This heavily populated community made up of Vietnamese fisherman was completely destroyed as well and also in desperate need. Because there is no shelter for the workers in the area, fishermen are forced to sleep in cars and destroyed boats. We even found people sleeping in refrigerators... After speaking with the workers we were given permission by the dock master to go ahead and set up two small tent village's in a destroyed fishing warehouse that would serve as our shelter. We were told that we would increase their work force by doing so because more fishermen would have a place to sleep rather than being subjected to the harsh conditions they were currently living in. We immediately, assembled a crew and with the help of our good friends over at North Face set up two tent shelters as well as a distribution. Keep in mind the docks in Venice pull in over 400 million dollars a year in fishing...
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CAN-DO would like to express their gratitude, once again, to North Face's generous donations. We will continue distributing warm jackets, tents, fleeces, boots, sleeping bags, hats etc.until the money and supplies run out.
This Week (Nov 14th) the temperature has dropped below 30 degrees...keep in mind people are sleeping in tents. The elderly, children, the disabled... and because the weather has gotten so cold it has forced people back into there condemned, mold ridden homes. These are homes without roofs covered in plastic, windows blown out and the stench from the mold that has been growing inside for the past 10 weeks is overwhelming, with no toilet, shower or laundry facility...Unfortunately, there is NO other alternative. This is the United States of America! Why are thousands of people are living like this?! Why the hell won't the media report on it? I am writing this blog from a room in a small building in East Biloxi with one small window blown out...I am from Boston and know what cold weather feels like...This is cold. But the people sleeping on the ground, in tents, or in a destroyed house or building, or in a destroyed boat with no electricity, or water, or heat because they lost everything...Physically and mentally, these people cannot survive like this and should not have to. Shame on the media for turning their backs, shame on the politicians that are thinking with their wallets and not hearts, shame on the people who were here days after soliciting money for their organizations and have now vanished and shame on the United States Government for not taking a more proactive stance and looking out for their own knowing the reality of how serious this has gotten. I will say this again, “The United States of America...If your reading this, be thankful because this could be you or your family being FORCED to live like this”.
Ask any volunteer why they are here and why they stay for as long as they do. Ten out of ten will tell you, “Because someone has to”.
MORE PICTURES COMING SOON...
ek
http://www.can-do.org/archive/byronandkelly/13Large.jpg http://
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( 3 / 1962 )Saturday, December 17, 2005, 14:41
As we reach deeper into communities with relief supplies and set updistribution sites it is hard to overcome our frustration. Americans
have become refugees in their own towns. People are suffering due to the lack of communication, as well as the cold weather.
With the uplifting support of the folks at The North Face, we remain
positive and work in conjunction with many agencies and organizations to
effectively obtain the resources we need to accomplish our goals
on the ground. CAN-DO's main focus includes:
*Identify and triage the most dire need and report them to FEMA and the DRC
*Continue to set up and maintain distribution sites throughout the Gulf Coast.
*Networking with other organizations to assure that adequate relief is
reaching effected areas that have yet to receive AID.
*Bring awareness to areas that have been simply overlooked or forgotten.
*Move forward with our executive proposal to create CRC's, (community
(revitalization centers),
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( 3 / 37 )Tuesday, October 18, 2005, 16:12
600,000 survivors still held up in Hotels....450,000 still in shelters....500,000 living in condemned or uninhabitable homes.....(STATS- www.NOLA.com/forums/volunteer)
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( 3.1 / 40 )Friday, October 14, 2005, 23:48
CAN-DO's over all goal is to design a model for RCR's (Community Revitalization Center's) not only throughout the Gulf Coast but around the world. This center will be designed to facilitate registered, non profit organizations under one roof and with one common goal- to work together efficiently and responsibly. Organizations working within the center would fall under one 501c3. Rather than donating millions of dollars to one specific organization they can donate to several groups under one umbrella organization, eliminating any doubt that donations are being used ineffectively. This will prove to be an effective plan because it will not only hold organizations accountable for the amount of funds collected but will also eliminate the "Red Tape" and careless spending. After any natural disaster a major problem is the lack of communication between organizations. This not only slows down relief efforts but causes confusion amongst the victims, which is why organizations are there in the first place. Working under one connected system will allow organizations to share information as well as network through one another to avoid overlaps or duplication of relief efforts.
Our plan is to have CRC's in place 48 to 72 hours after a natural disaster strikes. These centers will not only house the administrative side of things but will encompass all the necessary civil services as relief and reconstruction efforts progress into the future. Beyond civil services, these centers will be accessible to the public offering a medical facility with access to vaccinations and necessary counseling programs. Also included will be childcare, daycare, recreation center, library and a communication center where survivors can obtain useful information as well as internet access for registration purposes. This facility will be staffed with trained professionals to help with form registration as well as a on site free legal assistant. It will be safe and secure environment designed to accommodate and help those with temporary/long-term needs and more.
These centers are not only practical but necessary. A Community Revitalization Center will not only help to ensure that survivors receive the proper care and necessary tools to move on more efficiently and effectively but will also take pressure off the local, state and federal organizations as well. Keeping in mind that that this will have to be a combined effort from those who are willing to commit to a responsible, compassionate approach to a much needed solution.
Our proposal will be posted Wednesday, Oct 19th.
ek
"God is trying to open people's eyes, different
colors, different nations, different classes. He is
trying to show everyone that we are all supposed to
love each other. When Katrina came through he gave
everybody a taste of it. If we are not paying
attention we won't learn anything..."
Ms. Cathy Batiste
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