Friday, August 28, 2015

Obama Hails New Orleans Recovery: 'You Inspire Me'

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, killing 1,800 people and destroying 100,000 homes – President Barack Obama hailed the southern U.S. city’s revival.

“You are an example of what is possible when, in the face of tragedy and in the face of hardship, good people come together to lend a hand. And brick by brick, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, you build a better future," Obama said.

In a speech at a newly built community center in the city’s Lower Ninth Ward that was badly hit by the hurricane, the president highlighted New Orleans’ recovery and “remarkable progress” after suffering massive flooding.

“The project of rebuilding here wasn't simply to restore the city as it had been, it was to build a city as it should be,” he told a crowd of 600. “A city where everyone, no matter who they are or what they look like or how much money they've got, has an opportunity to make it."

The president began his remarks marking the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by noting the fast, steady and strong recovery of the U.S. economy.

Obama said despite a volatile few weeks around the world with the swing in global stock markets, “the United States of America, for all the challenges we still have, we continue to have the best cards – we just have to play them right.”......http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-to-speak-to-new-orleans-recovery-after-katrina/2934398.html

27/8/15
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3 comments:

  1. US President Barack Obama has heralded the progress New Orleans has made in rebuilding the city since Hurricane Katrina battered the area 10 years ago, but said more needed to be done to overcome poverty and inequality....

    On his ninth trip to the city that made worldwide headlines in 2005 after a devastating flood was exacerbated by a slow government response, Mr Obama toured a neighborhood of colourful new houses and a new school and community center.

    "Just because the houses are nice doesn't mean our job's done," he told reporters after shaking hands with residents and greeting children from the community.

    As a presidential candidate in 2008, Mr Obama sharply criticised Republican President George W Bush for his administration's handling of the aftermath of the storm.

    Speaking after almost two terms as president, Mr Obama recalled the storm and its aftermath.

    "What started out as a natural disaster became a man-made disaster, a failure of government to look out for its own citizens," he said.

    The storm "laid bare a deeper tragedy" of structural inequalities that left "too many people, especially poor people, especially people of colour, without good jobs or affordable healthcare or decent housing," he said.

    Mr Obama and other elected officials commemorating the 10th anniversary of the storm said there has been progress.......................http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0827/724053-katrina-obama/

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  2. US President Barack Obama said on Thursday Hurricane Katrina that battered New Orleans a decade ago laid bare "a deeper tragedy" of structural inequalities confronting the local African-American community...

    "What started out as a natural disaster became a man-made disaster, a failure of government to look out for its own citizens," said Obama during his visit to New Orleans to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the killer hurricane that killed at least 1,700 and displaced tens of thousands.

    "New Orleans had long been plagued by structural inequality that left too many people, especially poor people, especially people of color, without good jobs or affordable health care or decent housing," said Obama.

    For Obama, the "structural inequality " apparently had a causal relationship with the devastation and slow recovery experienced by inpoverished communities locally.

    "Too many kids grew up surrounded by violent crime, cycling through substandard schools where few had a shot to break out of poverty. And so like a body weakened already, undernourished already when the storm hit, there's no resources to fall back on," said Obama.

    As he is entering the final stage of his presidency, Obama, the country's first African-American president who once remained mainly silent on racial issues during his first term in office, becomes more vocal about his thoughts on the searing racial issues in the country.

    His most blistering remarks on racial issues so far came earlier this year after a white gunman killed nine African-American churchgoers out of racial motives.

    In an interview with comedian Marc Maron for his popular podcast "WTF" in June, Obama said that racism was still embedded in the United States and the legacy of slavery still remained part of the DNA that had passed on.
    http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/939561.shtml

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  3. "Katrina" - was damals geschah.... Teuerste Naturkatastrophe der USA ...

    Der Hurrikan "Katrina" überflutete fast 80 Prozent von New Orleans, ganze Stadtviertel wurden durch den Sturm zerstört. Die Kosten werden mit mehr als 125 Milliarden Dollar beziffert - damit ist "Katrina" die teuerste Naturkatastrophe in der US-Geschichte.

    Zehn Jahre ist es her, dass der Wirbelsturm "Katrina" erst die Karibik und dann den Südosten der USA - insbesondere die Stadt New Orleans - verwüstete..............http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/katrina-173.html

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