The new study, Building Common Ground, reveals vast similarities in the post-Katrina experiences of two groups often considered separately in discussions on hurricane recovery and rebuilding. While the study revealed many of the tensions and misconceptions that existed between the two groups, it demonstrated that there is very fertile ground upon which African Americans and Latinos can forge new relationships to combat some of the challenges they face together.
The results of the study will be presented Tuesday at 6 pm at Xavier University and will be followed by a panel discussion. Lydia Camarillo, Vice President of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project will deliver a keynote address following opening remarks from Xavier University president Dr. Norman Francis. Members of the panel include:
In one key finding, 83 percent of African Americans and 86 percent of Latinos said building alliances are important to achieving social and economic equity in New Orleans.
"Too often we talk about tensions between African-Americans and Latinos," said Ilana Scherl, Gulf Coast Field Representative for Oxfam America. "This study demonstrates that African Americans and Latinos face common challenges which limit their opportunities to succeed in society."
The study's results were driven from a survey conducted in late 2008 by Dr. Silas Lee & Associates of African Americans and Latinos living in New Orleans. Hundreds of residents were interviewed and participated in focus groups to gauge the issues and concerns affecting these communities.
The study found striking similarities, including:
The report also identified some of the obstacles and opportunities for working together on the issues both groups experience:
Most importantly, both groups recognized the importance of working together on common issues, with one focus group participant saying "We have to be here, and we have to get along. How can we start the dialogue?"
"This survey goes a long way to deconstructing some of the myths that have sprung up after Katrina," said Dr. Silas Lee. "Contrary to popular belief, significant percentages of both African Americans and Latinos not only believe that the two groups can and should work together, but are willing to take steps to continue to the process of recovery together now."
"Building Common Ground: How shared attitudes and concerns can create alliances between African Americans and Latinos in a post-Katrina New Orleans," was published by Oxfam America. Read the full text of the report and detailed results of the survey.
]]>The bill is historic as it commits to curbing global warming pollution, puts our nation and others on a clean energy development pathway, and addresses and finances the needs of vulnerable communities both at home and abroad who are on the front lines of climate change.
"Getting the Waxman-Markey bill out of the Energy and Commerce Committee is a history-making effort in enacting US climate and clean energy legislation," said Jim Lyons, vice-president of Oxfam America. "But while this bill is a giant leap in US climate change legislation, it is too small of a step towards what's needed for a global climate deal in Copenhagen this December."
Last minute attempts to eliminate important international provisions in the bill were rejected. If passed, these amendments would have seriously undermined the United States' leadership role in the international climate negotiations and would have shortchanged significant business opportunities abroad for America companies.
"Poor countries didn't create the problem, but they have to deal with the consequences. It's in America's best interest to help the most vulnerable adapt to global warming's consequences and cooperate with them to pursue clean energy pathways," said Lyons.
"Developing countries have made it crystal clear that without real cooperation and resources, there won't be a global climate deal," said Lyons. "A substantial increase in resources for the most vulnerable countries will be essential for the President to strike a global climate deal."
]]>"This bill is yet another important step in Chairman Berman's effort to fundamentally reform the way the US fights global poverty," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "Much important work still remains to be done to reform US policies and programs for global development. However, this bill moves us forward along the path to. reform."
H.R. 2410 would expand the number of Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) at both the Department of State and USAID, providing the US government with increased human capital to meet global challenges. The bill specifically includes authority for the Secretary of State to hire 1,500 FSOs and for the Administrator of USAID to hire 700 new FSOs over the next two years. Additionally, the bill includes authorities to make it easier to attract and retain personnel with the specialized skills required for supporting long-term poverty fighting efforts.
Oxfam America is also very pleased that the investment to modernize the Foreign Service includes a focus on using diplomacy to actively prevent, mitigate, and respond to international crises in a timely manner.
"An additional 1,500 State Department recruits, equipped with adequate training and a focused mandate, could go a long way in improving US diplomacy to address humanitarian crises," said Offenheiser.
To this end, the bill also requires the US government to outline a specific plan for the development of a government-wide strategy and the strengthening of United States civilian capacities for preventing genocide and mass atrocities.
"For too long the United States has responded to situations of mass atrocities in ad hoc and uncoordinated ways. Unless the US civilian agencies plan for contingencies and build capacity, our moral outrage will never be translated into effective action," said Offenheiser.
Oxfam America welcomes Chairman Berman's efforts, and calls upon Members of Congress to actively support broader reform to rebuild America's efforts to effectively combat global poverty and put poor people and governments in charge of their own development.
In April, Chairman Berman and Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009. H.R. 2139 focuses on three critical areas of foreign assistance reform: creating a US national strategy for global development, refocusing its monitoring and evaluation approach, and increasing transparency on where assistance dollars are going. Oxfam America supports H.R. 2139, and hopes to see the United States design and implement a National Strategy for Global Development.
]]>"We commend Chairmen Waxman and Markey for moving forward critically-needed comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation. They should be recognized for their efforts to create momentum toward a clean energy and climate-resilient economy.
"We thank the Chairmen for including critically-needed financing to meet the needs of vulnerable communities worldwide to prepare for unavoidable impacts of climate change and move toward a clean energy development pathway. But we are disappointed that not nearly enough resources are provided for adaptation in the immediate term to address the serious impacts already occurring around the world.
"A substantial increase in resources for the most vulnerable countries will be essential for the President to make progress on fostering a global climate deal in Copenhagen this December. Without this commitment, a global agreement on climate will be in serious jeopardy.
"Immediate investments in climate-related disaster preparation will preempt much greater costs—as much as seven times greater—in future years and are key to avoiding global conflicts and instability. A recent report by Oxfam calculates that the number of people around the world affected by climate-related disasters annually will increase by more than 50 percent, to 375 million people by 2016.
"The bill also places a mandatory limit on global warming pollution, the cause of increasing climate-related harm for vulnerable communities. While the long-term emission targets are robust, the short term targets fall short of what's needed. The bill only aims to reduce US emissions by roughly 3 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, despite recommendations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that industrialized countries together reduce their global warming emissions by 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The more ambitious the emissions cuts, the less the damage vulnerable communities will face.
"There is considerable momentum in Congress right now to address the threats of climate change and transition our economy to clean energy, thereby creating new clean energy jobs and opportunities for US businesses.
"We look forward to working with members of Congress to strengthen the bill and ensure that the President has the necessary tools to broker an equitable and effective global climate agreement in Copenhagen this year. We also look to the White House to help Congress forge an aggressive energy and climate bill that gets the job done and protects those in need."
]]>"Congressman Berman has long sought to make reform of US government global development programs a priority," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. "Reform is necessary to restore America's leadership in fighting global poverty. Both he and Congressman Kirk should be applauded for identifying reform as one of America's top foreign policy challenges."
"With the right reforms, the US foreign assistance system can help poor people get the tools they need to lead their own development, spur economic growth and create a more prosperous world for everyone. This bill is an important first step to making sure the United States has the right tools to fight global poverty."
The bill, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009, focuses on three critical areas of foreign assistance reform: creating a US national strategy for global development, refocusing its monitoring and evaluation approach, and increasing transparency on where assistance dollars are going.
"Creating a national strategy for global development will help coordinate our disjointed US foreign assistance system, establish poverty reduction as its primary goal and provide developing countries and their citizens more ownership over their own development agenda," said Offenheiser. "By taking the time to listen to the poor people and countries we are trying to help, and by giving them more control over their own futures, US foreign assistance is more likely to make a long-lasting impact."
Tracking funding and ensuring assistance dollars are getting to people in need is one the biggest challenges facing US foreign assistance programs said Oxfam. There has been little chance to date that developing countries could get critical information needed to plan effectively for their own development projects. The portions of the bill focused on transparency promise US taxpayers and developing countries long-awaited clarity on how foreign assistance dollars are being distributed.
"Greater transparency in US foreign assistance programs is an important step to creating true partnerships with developing countries and their citizens," said Offenheiser. "When developing countries get access to information they need to effectively plan their own futures, they are empowered to work alongside the US as equal partners."
The monitoring and evaluation portion of the bill is a promising effort to change an antiquated model of gauging success. For too long, the US has focused on counting things like how many individuals went through a one-off agricultural training workshop rather than how much more food was produced locally to meet the needs of a community.
"Washington needs to stop bean-counting when it comes to judging the success of US foreign assistance. We need to be looking at how many more girls are getting an education because of US foreign assistance, and how their lives are improved, not just how many pencils are sharpened or textbooks are bought."
"President Obama has already expressed a commitment to making our foreign assistance dollars as effective as possible. Chairman Berman's 'down payment' on foreign assistance reform helps us get there," said Offenheiser.
]]>Oxfam says G-20 leaders could make a critical difference to the world's poorest people by diverting a tiny fraction of the bailout money to provide an economic stimulus, social safety nets and health services for those affected by the economic crisis.
Oxfam is calling for a $580 billion-a-year rescue package for poor countries made up of an immediate fiscal stimulus for the poorest countries of at least $24 billion, debt relief and fulfillment of existing pledges to increase development aid.
Urgent action is also needed to crackdown on tax havens, which deprive developing countries of hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue every year—much more than they receive in development aid.
"When you look at the amount of money that has been found for banks it seems inconceivable that G-20 leaders will stand aside and allow the economic crisis to destroy poor people' lives," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.
"Developing countries are reeling from dramatic declines in trade, remittances and foreign investment. Rich governments whose policies contributed to the crisis have a responsibility to help those who cannot afford their own bailouts.
"Without urgent action, hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people will fall further into poverty. Losing your job is devastating wherever it happens but for millions people in poor countries, without benefits and health services to fall back on, unemployment will push them into destitution."
An Oxfam report, published earlier this week, revealed women are hit hardest and are often the first to lose their jobs as countries slide into recession. For many, in developing countries the recession comes on top of high fuel and food prices that have already stretched communities to breaking point.
Oxfam is pressing for rich country governments to promote a 'green new deal' by ensuring their domestic rescue packages help tackle climate change by accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Oxfam is also calling for reform of international financial institutions, including the IMF and World Bank, to give developing countries a real say in the decisions that affect them.
"We cannot return to the situation where the greed of the richest was allowed to take precedence over the needs of millions," said Offenheiser. "G-20 leaders have a real opportunity to take a significant step towards a fairer, more sustainable world."
]]>The ambassadors' message: Worldwide, it's women who often bear the brunt of the effects of climate change, including more frequent and severe floods, droughts, and hurricanes. The US must invest now in adaptation projects, like elevated flood-proof houses and drought-resistant seeds, to help women and families build their resilience to these new and heightened risks.
"It's important to talk about the cost-effective nature of investing in the world's most vulnerable populations, both for their stability and for global security," said Sisters on the Planet Ambassador the Hon. Barbara Lawton, lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. "Whether it's women and families in the US, in Sudan, or in the Arctic Circle... our destinies are linked."
Joining Lawton on the Congressional visits were Linda Adams, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency; Elizabeth Becker, journalist and author; Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett, president of the Resource and Promotion of Health Alliance, Inc.; Dr. Kristie Ebi, human health author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Rachel Larson, executive director of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Coastal Women for Change; and Mary Wilson, president of the League of Women Voters.
Oxfam's Judith Brackley, a member of the event planning team, said the participants reflect a diverse group of more than 25 Sisters on the Planet Ambassadors, including business leaders, artists, university presidents, and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (Read a full list of Sisters on the Planet ambassadors.)
"Though they come from different backgrounds, these are all women of influence, who can speak on behalf of women around the world—many of whom have no voice or access to seats of power," said Brackley.
As a result of the ambassadors' visits, 10 members of Congress agreed to sponsor an upcoming bipartisan Congressional resolution on women and climate change. Others pledged to support international adaptation funding in future US climate legislation.
The ambassadors particularly targeted their efforts to women leaders. Representative Anna Eshoo, Democrat of California, joined them for a question and answer session over dinner, while Representative Doris O. Matsui, Democrat of California, signed on as the newest Sisters on the Planet Ambassador.
Brackley said the ambassadors will play an ongoing role as spokeswomen for Oxfam's climate change campaign. Many came away from the event with new connections to one another and new ideas for spreading the word among constituents.
Burnett, a physician and minister, talked about Sisters on the Planet the following Sunday morning—International Women's Day—on her satellite radio talk show targeting the African-American community.
"When I look at climate change and poverty—all the things Sisters on the Planet talks about—I've seen that in the work I've been doing here in the US. When I see the droughts that are occurring where they use trickle irrigation, and I turn around and look at drought in farmland in middle Georgia, I see common ground," Burnett said.
Join the effort: Take the Sisters on the Planet pledge.
]]>Although the force of the storms was an act of nature, what the American people have since witnessed—an uneven and often incompetent recovery effort—is the result of deliberate human acts. If we refuse to address this as a nation, it will go down in history not only as a failure of leadership, but also as a failure to hold our government accountable.
Two fundamental indicators, housing and jobs, provide stark proof of the stalled recovery. Full recovery is possible only when affordable homes are coupled with secure, decent jobs. Without quality jobs and affordable housing, low- and moderate income families are unable to return to their former lives. Decent wages allow people to return home and recreate vibrant communities by providing the necessary workforce to rebuild the region.
The situation grows increasingly critical, but despite challenges, there is a way forward. We face a historic election; the next president of the US must guarantee a just, equitable, and complete recovery. America must take immediate action to ensure that people struggling to rebuild their communities get the support that their hard work and innovation demand.
]]>Overall, the proposal would spend an estimated US$10 billion less over the next 10 years than projected spending for the 2002 Farm Bill, which is set to expire in September 2007. Much of the anticipated savings are from expected high prices for many commodities in future years. However, the Johanns proposal actually would spend US$5 billion more from 2008 – 2012 than simply extending the existing provisions in the 2002 Farm Bill.
Download the attached file to read the full text of this report by Oxfam America employee Emily Alpert. (From Bridges No. 1, February-March 2007, published by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development.)
]]>While the Farm Bill does little to help poor farmers in the US, it actually harms rural communities around the world. After receiving massive subsidies, US cotton farms produce more than they otherwise would, and sell their surplus at less than the cost of production. These subsidies hurt African cotton farmers by reducing the world price of cotton and shrinking their share of the market. This situation is not only unfair; it violates international rules set by the World Trade Organization.
]]>This examination of three communities emblematic of longstanding poverty and exclusion— the urban neighborhoods of East Biloxi, Mississippi, and the rural communities of Vermilion and Plaquemines parishes in Louisiana—reveals that government neglect at all levels extends beyond the well-publicized failures in New Orleans to encompass an entire region in distress.
Access to opportunity remains unequal—and unfair. In Biloxi, government officials acted first to save the city’s battered casinos by convincing state lawmakers to allow gaming on land. Not ensuring that the low-income residents of East Biloxi shared in the economic benefits, however, has made them victims of an enormous land squeeze, forcing them out of their neighborhoods and homes.
False assurances undermine future visions—and current optimism. The self-reliant residents of Erath, a mostly Cajun community in rural Vermilion Parish, began rehabilitating their houses the moment they returned after Hurricane Rita’s flood waters receded. After confusing signals about new flood elevations, plans for the town’s future, and possible homeowner grants, their progress has slowed and in some cases has been reversed by the agencies meant to facilitate it. Institutional neglect leaves communities at risk of losing everything—even their way of life.
Few state or federal funds have assisted the recovery of independent commercial fishers, who for generations have made Plaquemines Parish the center of their trade. Their inability to continue is draining Louisiana’s usually robust commercial fisheries, normally second in the nation only to Alaska.
These communities, and many like them, teeter on the brink. They are being rendered invisible.
Left behind. Forgotten.
The pattern of inequity in receiving recovery assistance from the government has been well established by past disasters. Federal disaster assistance tends to favor people who have economic assets at risk—that is, the affluent. Though the pattern may be familiar, it need not be inevitable.
Making sure the billions designated for recovery benefit the region’s most vulnerable communities remains a matter of political will. Action can and must be taken immediately.
It is, after all, what the nation promised them. That they would be rendered whole. Get ahead. Thrive.
]]>But now Hanshaw, and a growing number of other women in the Gulf Coast community, have a new foundation from which to begin rebuilding part of their lives: Coastal Women for Change, or CWC, a fledgling group of newborn activists determined have a say in the recovery of their neighborhoods.
Whatever the 2006 hurricane season brings, CWC may serve as a buffer to additional hardship. It has taught many of the women that each of them has a voice, and those voices count—individually and collectively.
"Our mission is to empower these women with knowledge of what they can do," said Hanshaw, the group's new director. "It's unlimited. You can build. You can go back to school. You can call your local officials. You can talk to them. They're there for us."
Now numbering about 25 regular members, with a core group of 10, CWC was launched with the help of Safiya Daniels, a community development specialist for Oxfam America, who has been working chiefly in Biloxi and Gulfport.
"One big difference that I saw between these two cities was the existence of organized community groups," said Daniels. "I realized that outside of the churches, Biloxi had none. I also noticed there was very little institutionalized female leadership in Biloxi."
Daniels also worried that there seemed to be few community gatherings in Biloxi to discuss what direction the city was taking as it began recovering from Katrina. Long-range community planning was not on anyone's neighborhood radar screen.
"This was a dangerous situation," said Daniels. "Everyone else was making a plan: casino developers, condo developers, and the city, but there was very little evidence of broad community participation."
She knew the concern was there—"in every community there are lots of concerned women who want a vibrant, healthy, and safe community for their families to live in"—but how to turn that interest into action was the missing piece. So, Daniels called a meeting.
"I brought a group of women together to talk about what was happening in their community, what issues and problems they faced, and how these could be addressed," said Daniels.
That first meeting grew into a series of sessions which blossomed into action, spawned weekly gatherings, attracted new members, and finally gave birth to an official group with a name and stated mission. Its goal is this: "to make a difference in our communities through securing and revitalizing our neighborhoods." Information sharing is the critical tool in achieving that end.
"I don't want people to be left out," said Hanshaw. "I want to give them knowledge. Knowledge is power."
Knowledge starts with asking questions, and one of the first events CWC sponsored was a Biloxi community forum to which it invited the mayor, city councilors, and members of the city planning department. Questions abounded—about flood elevations mapped out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), about affordable housing, about displaced people. Nearly 200 residents showed up for the forum.
Attendees not only got some answers, some of them learned a deeper lesson as well.
"Democracy works only if people make it work," said Daniels. "And we do that by holding people accountable. There possibly has never been a time during the mayor's 13-year tenure that he found himself in such a position, being watched and held accountable by this particular community, and in such a public way."
Asking questions is the first step. Having a say in the answers is the next step. Right away, CWC members sought seats on a planning commission formed by Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway. Called Reviving the Renaissance Committee, it was given 90 days to come up with a plan for the city's recovery.
Five CWC members have been weighing in on matters of finance, education, land use, and affordable housing—the subcommittees for which they signed up. And people are beginning to listen to CWC's opinions.
"We are in the paper every week," said Hanshaw, adding that she gets the sense she is even making some of the powerbrokers nervous.
"They try to turn their heads when I come up," she said. "Especially the developers. They don't want to talk to me. They know where I stand."
For Cass Woods, working with CWC has given her a direct link to her community, and that link is allowing her to make things better all around.
"It makes me feel good to help someone," said Woods, who has been living in a government issue trailer—the size of a matchbox, she said—parked in her back yard for months. "That's what has helped me get through my loss."
With a $30,000 seed grant from the 21st Century Foundation, CWC will be able to pay Hanshaw a salary, purchase office supplies, and begin to look ahead at how to fund itself into the future.
Meanwhile, the organization is undertaking a new task: a survey of East Biloxi to find out the childcare needs of the community's residents. To renew its license, a local day care organization is being required to assess the need for its services in the area.
"This is our first project," said Hanshaw. "Another accomplishment under our belts."
And it's just the kind of project Daniels had a hunch a group like CWC could offer the community.
"The needs of the community will drive what CWC takes on," said Daniels. With those needs being constant—as they are in every community—Daniels expects the new organization to have a long and productive life.
"It's going to stand on its own. I am confident of that," she said. "I could see it truly growing into a coastwide organization."
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