U.S. Guilty Of Katrina-Related Abuses

U.S. Guilty Of Katrina-Related Abuses
by The Associated Press
April 9, 2010

The U.S. government and Gulf Coast states have consistently violated the human rights of hurricane victims since Hurricane Katrina killed about 1,800 people and caused widespread devastation after striking in August 2005, Amnesty International said Friday.

The report, "Un-Natural Disaster," said the treatment of hurricane victims and government actions in housing, health care and policing have prevented poor minority communities from rebuilding and returning to their homes on the Gulf Coast.

In sum, government actions have amounted to human rights violations and "as a result, the demographics of the region are being permanently altered," the report said.