Welcome to New Orleans, USA, chers amis européens

Une des caractéristiques (sans surprise) de la crise US de l’ouragan Katrina est la mauvaise volonté mise par les autorités officielles américanistes pour faciliter l’accès de l’aide internationale aux victimes. Toute sornette sur la démocratie américaniste mise de côté pour la bonne santé de nos esprits, on observera que c’est une situation assez proche de celle qu’on expérimentait du temps de l’URSS, lorsqu’un tel cas se présentait.

On connaît les difficultés qu’ont connu des avions français acheminant de l’aide vers La Nouvelle Orléans, attendant plusieurs jours en Guadeloupe l’autorisation de rejoindre les USA, et finalement détournés loin de la zone de dévastation (on allait écrire : “de combat”). Voici le compte-rendu, de sources internes, des difficultés européennes à cet égard.

« EU Cites difficulties in getting Katrina ait to victim in the U.S.

» Transport and other logistics problems are holding up some of the mass of humanitarian aid European countries have offered to the victims of hurricane Katrina, an EU official said on Tuesday. “There appear to be some transportation problems,” said Barbara Helfferich, a spokeswoman for the Commission. She said a Swedish plane laden with aid was waiting to take off but had not got U.S. approval to enter the United States. High-speed pumps offered by Germany had arrived but Helfferich said unspecified “coordination problems” in the United States had prevented them from being deployed so far. She said EU authorities had suggested to the United States that aid could be flown in more easily via U.S. army airbases in Europe, such as that in Ramstein, Germany. She did not say if they had received a reply. Twenty-three European countries have offered help to the United States ranging from financial assistance to ready-to-eat meals, blankets, tents and disinfectant supplies. Helfferich said the United States had not agreed to take it all and Britain, which currently holds the presidency of the EU, was negotiating with U.S. authorities on what to deliver. The EU and NATO said on Sunday they had received official requests from the United States to provide emergency assistance for the victims of Katrina, days after it ravaged U.S. cities. The Commission said at the time that the request to it came after several days of discussions and insisted that the EU, the world's biggest aid donor, could have acted sooner if asked. President Bush is under fierce criticism for his government's slow response to the hurricane, a disaster which the mayor of New Orleans says may have killed 10,000 in his city. »

Mis en ligne le 8 septembre 2005 à 08H00