[Anyone] New Orleans seeking foreign aid:

[Thos Myers]

Attention Americans Shoppers:
You are on your own!



New Orleans Turns to International Aid
By Becky Bohrer
The Associated Press

Friday 15 June 2007

City has received only half of promised funds.

New Orleans - The cash-strapped city of New Orleans is turning to foreign
countries for help to rebuild as federal hurricane-recovery dollars remain
slow to flow.

Kenya Smith, director of intergovernmental relations for Mayor Ray Nagin,
said city leaders are talking with more than five countries. He wouldn't
identify the countries, saying discussions were in the early stages. But
he said the city is "very serious" about pursuing foreign help.

"Of course, we would love to have all the resources we need from federal
and state partners, but we're comfortable now in having to be creative,"
Smith said. He did not know if the city would have to overcome any
obstacles if it got firm pledges for aid, but "we want to make sure we're
leaving no options unexplored."

For months Nagin has complained bureaucracy is choking the flow of
much-needed federal aid dollars to New Orleans - slowing the city's
recovery. As of June 8, the city said it had received just over half of
the $320 million FEMA has obligated for rebuilding city infrastructure and
emergency response-related costs. The city has estimated its damage at far
more than that - at least $1 billion. And that doesn't include other
improvements - such as raised neighborhoods - meant to help build the
stronger city promoted by Nagin and his recovery director.

Discussions with foreign representatives have been occurring off and on
since the storm, but Smith said the city became re-engaged after a news
report in April that millions of dollars in aid offered by foreign
countries after Hurricane Katrina went unaccepted.

It wasn't clear how much of the $854 million in aid originally offered
remained on the table. In Katrina's wake, Cuban President Fidel Castro's
proposal to send more than 1,000 medical personnel to New Orleans was
among the offers of aid.

The federal government accepted about $126 million from foreign sources
and encouraged some countries to give instead to private groups such as
the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told a
congressional committee last month.

Nagin said city officials are now trying to skirt the Bush administration
and contact foreign governments directly "to see if we can get some of
those dollars coming here."

Separately, Adam Sharp, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.,
said Landrieu is working with the government of Saudi Arabia on ways it
can help restore New Orleans' City Park.

In addition, Landrieu joined Sens. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Patrick
Leahy, D-Vt., in asking Rice to respond to whether the United States is
better positioned now to accept foreign aid should the need arise again.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061607E.shtml
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