For Katrina survivors, deprived of their basic human rights, the time for healing has never come.

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For Katrina survivors, deprived of their basic human rights, the time for healing has never come.
Help them rebuild their lives with dignity.


Five years after Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,800 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, the suffering continues. In New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast, there is a continued lack of access to housing and health care, and issues related to the criminal justice system persist. Communities displaced by the storms remain unable to rebuild and return to their homes.

To focus attention to this ongoing human rights catastrophe, Amnesty International USA is kicking off its Annual General Meeting today in New Orleans with a brass-band-led march on City Hall. Our supporters will be calling on Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu to protect the rights of New Orleans residents still suffering from the storm.

We also released a new report today, http://www.amnestyusa.org/demand-dignity/fight-poverty-with-human-rights/human-rights-and-poverty-in-the-gulf-coast/page.do?id=1021235, Un-Natural Disaster, that's been picked up by more than 160 news outlets in the United States and internationally. It documents the failure of local, state, and federal governments to protect the rights of poor and minority Gulf Coast residents in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The report makes specific proposals to improve federal response when a significant percent of a population is displaced, and to protect the rights of displaced people to access education, health care, housing, food, vocational training, and other public services.


Together we can help the forgotten victims in New Orleans. Amnesty International is calling on Congress to amend the Stafford Act, the legislation that governs federal disaster response, to bring it in line with recognized human rights standards.

Urge Sen. Mary Landrieu to introduce legislation to reform the Stafford Act to protect the human rights of all people displaced by disasters.

Take action today to restore dignity to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and respect for human rights here at home.

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&aid=14093

In Solidarity,

Sameer Dossani
Director, Demand Dignity Campaign
Amnesty International USA
U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement | Download PDF »

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1. I'm going to miss Ray nagin.

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