Damage from hurricane Irma in St. martin
St. Martin, a caribbean island, has been hit by Hurricane Irma, and evacuation efforts are taking place. This French territory has some mixed-race and black residents that complained about how white tourists were given priority to evacuate. St. Martin resident Johana Soudiagom says "It's selective. Excuse me, but we saw only mainlanders. That's a way of saying, 'I'm sorry, only whites. There are only whites on the boat'" when talking about the people who were able to leave the island. The French prime minister, on the other hand, claims that only the most vulnerable people were prioritized, and that evacuation of tourists first in a natural disaster was common practice.
France's Representative Council of Black Associations issued a parliamentary inquiry to the French government on the basis that the ones evacuated were not "necessarily the most in distress." Louis-Georges Tine, the group's spokesman, says "In my eyes, Irma is for the French Antilles what Hurricane Katrina was for Louisiana in the U.S. — an exposer of racial and social inequalities." The group's spokesman also points out that "In Florida, there were more than 1 million evacuated, and France says that with four days' notice they couldn't evacuate a much smaller number. The question must be asked: Does it have to do with racism?"
In addition to the government, the French television reports are accused of being racially biased. Michael Giraud, a French researcher, says that the news reports showed more devastating situations to white victims as opposed to the non-white ones.
Link to article:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-hurricane-rescues-raise-anger-racial-questions-49765931
4 comments:
I feel like this could be a mixture of both racism and business. I doubt that the evacuators were consciously discriminating against the black and mixed-race residents. I think what could be some sort of a explanation is that the white people were tourists, and tourists are money, especially in St. Martin, where 80% of their economy is based off the tourism business (wikipedia). So in the best interest of the island's economy and reputation, they might have more of an incentive to help out those who have the greatest effect on their economy first. I believe this is a case of inherent racism, where it has deeper roots than outright discrimination, and obviously St. Martin isn't the only country dealing with this problem. This sheds light on the underlying problems with race relations in multiple countries, especially the United States, where minorities are still being affected by political and economic decisions from centuries back.
I don't really think this is racism. Same thing as Theo, that I highly doubt the evacuators were discriminating the residents of St. Maarten. Tourist should be prioritized because they are not from that Island. Since most of the economy comes from tourism, it would be best for them to leave so that tourist can continue to visit the island in the future, and not worry if another disaster happens that they would be left behind.
I personally believe that the evacuators were not racist either. I can understand why "evacuating tourists first is a common practice," as claimed by the French Prime Minister. Tourists are the ones who are unfamiliar to the place and less equipped with ways to deal with natural disasters as opposed to residents who probably have created escape plans and have first aid kits and other preparedness methods ready. It is not feasible to help every person escape at the same time, although that would be ideal. Therefore, tourists who have no knowledge of the place they are visiting, should be prioritized over those who are m ore familiar with the land.
Though it is a bit unsettling to see a potential case of discrimination against the population of St. Martin, it does make sense for the tourists to have been given priority in the evacuation, because, as other people have pointed out, the island is incredibly reliant on tourism. It does seem like an incredibly selfish decision, as the lives of the residents that have built a life in St. Martin are just as important and valuable as those of the tourists visiting the island for vacation.
Sometimes, governments find it necessary to prioritize what is most beneficial as opposed to what is "right," and I feel like it ends up being a matter of self-preservation. They've chosen to protect their economy as opposed to their people, which, of course, is a questionable decision, but I can see why they would do such a thing.
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