Des nouvelles de La Nouvelle Orléans : “Mission Accomplished”

N’oublions pas de prendre régulièrement des nouvelles de La Nouvelle Orléans. Cette fois, seize mois après Katrina, c’est un court compte-rendu d’un Dr. Giles Fraser, vicaire de Putney et professeur de philosophie au Wadham College de Oxford. C’est aujourd’hui dans le Guardian.

Des bonnes âmes s’étaient exclamées devant ceux, autres bonnes âmes mais un peu plus critiques, qui observaient que Katrina serait peut-être l’occasion de lancer ce qu’on nomme en bon jargon postmoderne une campagne de nettoyage ethnique à Los Angeles, avec les pauvres et les Noirs prestement écartés.

Le Dr. Fraser nous confirme un peu plus, après d’autres à diverses périodes, que c’est bien de cela dont il s’agit.

«Last August two-thirds of New Orleans was under water. In low-lying areas — such as the lower ninth ward, where many of the city's musicians originate — almost no reconstruction work is being done. Insurance companies won't cover new buildings unless the levees are reinforced to withstand another big storm, and the government won't cough up the $30bn-plus the work is expected to cost. So the powers that be are effectively abandoning the lower-lying areas, offering precious little hope of return to the Katrina diaspora spread over the south. A city that had a population of nearly half a million has been reduced by 300,000. Some are whispering that this is a way of rebalancing the city's ethnic mix, which has been majority black for some time.

»Dr Courtney Cowart, who runs the Diocese of Louisiana's disaster relief team, escaped from the shadow of the World Trade Centre on 9/11. She cannot help but compare the government's response to both tragedies, noting that nothing like the financial commitment made to New York is being offered to New Orleans. The Big Easy, disliked by conservatives because of its reputation for debauchery, is in danger of being ignored.»

Mis en ligne le 2 janvier 2007 à 09H18