America promises freedom and opportunity. The government's job is
to keep us safe, listen to our concerns and provide us a fair chance
to move forward. But right now, as we attempt to recover from
disaster here in New Orleans, we are suffering.
After a disappointing response effort that left many people
behind and rarely sought the input of the people affected, I admit I
lost some faith and trust in the government. Ultimately, the success
of our rebuilding effort depends on repairing our partnership with
our government at all levels, and in reinvesting in its ability to
serve us well and protect us.
As a member of the Vietnamese community in New Orleans and a
person who escaped communism to live in the land of the free, the
promise of opportunity is particularly important to me. It drew our
community to this country. We took advantage of the opportunities
here, and our community has grown and thrived for more than 30
years. We have built homes, businesses and churches. We're proud to
call New Orleans and this country home.
After Hurricane Katrina, the Vietnamese community was one of the
first to return. Our leaders came back, took stock and determined
our needs. As a result, we are making great strides toward recovery.
In eastern New Orleans, over three quarters of our businesses
have reopened. Our church offered rent-free land for 199 FEMA
trailers. We are on our way.
However, the efforts of the business and faith sector have not
been matched by the government. We need the government's full
partnership to address the barriers to our community's full
restoration. For instance, while we enthusiastically welcomed the
arrival of our FEMA trailers, only 65 of 200 interested households
have been approved for occupancy. FEMA still has not assigned a site
manager for maintenance care. Not enough schools have reopened to
accommodate our children's need to stay on track educationally.
Pumps and, in fact, the entire infrastructure of eastern New Orleans
still need to be repaired. There is plenty of work to be done.
Despite the return of more than half of the Vietnamese-American
population and many other neighbors as wells, no hospitals are open
in eastern New Orleans, making it unsafe for many of our elderly or
ill family members to return. Meanwhile, the health issues that
plague the city were recently exacerbated here with the opening of a
landfill at the edge of our community to accommodate debris from the
clean-up; we were silenced in the decision of the opening of the
landfill. In addition to threatening our air quality and
groundwater, the potentially toxic contents of the dumpsite could
seep into the canals that feed our gardens.
Recent events have shown us how badly we all suffer when our
nation's promises of safety and opportunity are compromised. When
the government doesn't listen to us and doesn't step forward when
it's needed, and when years of disinvestment in its infrastructure
cause the kind of failures we're witnessing today, the consequences
are dire.
America's history shows that when we ensure a voice for everyone
in public decisions and invest in effective government systems that
serve all communities fairly, everyone benefits. In our case, that
means we would like to see more transparent and inclusive
decision-making, more public resources and staffing and a more
equitable distribution of the burdens and benefits of the rebuilding
process.
The past year has made clear how important it is to invest in our
government, to work on our partnership and to strengthen our
democracy. As a stronger nation, when another Katrina comes along,
we can all rise and move forward together.
. . . . . . .
The Rev. Nguyen thé Vien is the pastor of Mary Queen of Vietnam
Catholic Church in eastern New Orleans.
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