奥巴马演讲:奥巴马称支持重建新奥尔良
President Obama speaks about the efforts New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have made to recover in the five years since Hurricane Katrina and talks of his Administration’s commitment to restore the area in the wake of Katrina and the BP Oil Spill.
【Transcript】
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. It is good to be back. (Applause.) It is good to be back.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: It’s good to have you back!
THE PRESIDENT: I’m glad. (Laughter.) And due to popular demand, I decided to bring the First Lady down here. (Applause.)
We have just an extraordinary number of dedicated public servants who are here. If you will be patient with me, I want to make sure that all of them are acknowledged. First of all, you’ve got the governor of the great state of Louisiana — Bobby Jindal is here. (Applause.) We have the outstanding mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu. (Applause.) We have the better looking and younger senator from Louisiana, Mary Landrieu. (Applause.)
I believe that Senator David Vitter is here. David — right here. (Applause.) We have — hold on a second now — we’ve got Congressman Joe Cao is here. (Applause.) Congressman Charlie Melancon is here. (Applause.) Congressman Steve Scalise is here. (Applause.)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who has been working tirelessly down here in Louisiana, Shaun Donovan. (Applause.) We’ve got our EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson here — homegirl. (Applause.) Administrator of FEMA Craig Fugate is here. (Applause.) The person who’s heading up our community service efforts all across the country — Patrick Corvington is here. (Applause.) Louisiana’s own Regina Benjamin, the Surgeon General — (applause) — a Xavier grad, I might add. (Applause.) We are very proud to have all of these terrific public servants here.
It is wonderful to be back in New Orleans, and it is a great honor —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We can’t see you!
THE PRESIDENT: It is a great honor — (laughter) — you can see me now? (Laughter.) Okay. It is a great honor to be back at Xavier University. (Applause.) And I — it’s just inspiring to spend time with people who’ve demonstrated what it means to persevere in the face of tragedy; to rebuild in the face of ruin.
I’m grateful to Jade for her introduction, and congratulate you on being crowned Miss Xavier. (Applause.) I hope everybody heard during the introduction she was a junior at Ben Franklin High School five years ago when the storm came. And after Katrina, Ben Franklin High was terribly damaged by wind and water. Millions of dollars were needed to rebuild the school. Many feared it would take years to reopen — if it could be reopened at all.
But something remarkable happened. Parents, teachers, students, volunteers, they all got to work making repairs. And donations came in from across New Orleans and around the world. And soon, those silent and darkened corridors, they were bright and they were filled with the sounds of young men and women, including Jade, who were going back to class. And then Jade committed to Xavier, a university that likewise refused to succumb to despair. So Jade, like so many students here at this university, embody hope. That sense of hope in difficult times, that’s what I came to talk about today.
It’s been five years since Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. There’s no need to dwell on what you experienced and what the world witnessed. We all remember it keenly: water pouring through broken levees; mothers holding their children above the waterline; people stranded on rooftops begging for help; bodies lying in the streets of a great American city. It was a natural disaster but also a manmade catastrophe — a shameful breakdown in government that left countless men, and women, and children abandoned and alone.
And shortly after the storm, I came down to Houston to spend time with some of the folks who had taken shelter there. And I’ll never forget what one woman told me. She said, “We had nothing before the hurricane. And now we’ve got less than nothing.”
In the years that followed, New Orleans could have remained a symbol of destruction and decay; of a storm that came and the inadequate response that followed. It was not hard to imagine a day when we’d tell our children that a once vibrant and wonderful city had been laid low by indifference and neglect. But that’s not what happened. It’s not what happened at Ben Franklin. It’s not what happened here at Xavier. It’s not what happened across New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast. (Applause.) Instead this city has become a symbol of resilience and of community and of the fundamental responsibility that we have to one another.
And we see that here at Xavier. Less than a month after the storm struck, amidst debris and flood-damaged buildings, President Francis promised that this university would reopen in a matter of months. (Applause.) Some said he was crazy. Some said it couldn’t happen. But they didn’t count on what happens when one force of nature meets another. (Laughter.) And by January — four months later — class was in session. Less than a year after the storm, I had the privilege of delivering a commencement address to the largest graduating class in Xavier’s history. That is a symbol of what New Orleans is all about. (Applause.)
We see New Orleans in the efforts of Joycelyn Heintz, who’s here today. Katrina left her house 14 feet underwater. But after volunteers helped her rebuild, she joined AmeriCorps to serve the community herself — part of a wave of AmeriCorps members who’ve been critical to the rebirth of this city and the rebuilding of this region. (Applause.) So today, she manages a local center for mental health and wellness.
We see the symbol that this city has become in the St. Bernard Project, whose founder Liz McCartney is with us. (Applause.) This endeavor has drawn volunteers from across the country to rebuild hundreds of homes throughout St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward.
I’ve seen the sense of purpose people felt after the storm when I visited Musicians’ Village in the Ninth Ward back in 2006. Volunteers were not only constructing houses; they were coming together to preserve the culture of music and art that’s part of the soul of this city — and the soul of this country. And today, more than 70 homes are complete, and construction is underway on the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. (Applause.)
We see the dedication to the community in the efforts of Xavier grad Dr. Regina Benjamin, who mortgaged her home, maxed out her credit cards so she could reopen her Bayou la Batre clinic to care for victims of the storm — and who is now our nation’s Surgeon General. (Applause.)
And we see resilience and hope exemplified by students at Carver High School, who have helped to raise more than a million dollars to build a new community track and football field — their “Field of Dreams” — for the Ninth Ward. (Applause.)
So because of all of you — all the advocates, all the organizers who are here today, folks standing behind me who’ve worked so hard, who never gave up hope — you are all leading the way toward a better future for this city with innovative approaches to fight poverty and improve health care, reduce crime, and create opportunities for young people. Because of you, New Orleans is coming back. (Applause.)
And I just came from Parkway Bakery and Tavern. (Applause.) Five years ago, the storm nearly destroyed that neighborhood institution. I saw the pictures. Now they’re open, business is booming, and that’s some good eats. (Laughter.) I had the shrimp po’boy and some of the gumbo. (Applause.) But I skipped the bread pudding because I thought I might fall asleep while I was speaking. (Laughter.) But I’ve got it saved for later. (Laughter.)
Five years ago, many questioned whether people could ever return to this city. Today, New Orleans is one of the fastest growing cities in America, with a big new surge in small businesses. Five years ago, the Saints had to play every game on the road because of the damage to the Superdome. Two weeks ago, we welcomed the Saints to the White House as Super Bowl champions. (Applause.) There was also food associated with that. (Laughter.) We marked the occasion with a 30-foot po’boy made with shrimps and oysters from the Gulf. (Applause.) And you’ll be pleased to know there were no leftovers. (Laughter.)
Now, I don’t have to tell you that there are still too many vacant and overgrown lots. There are still too many students attending classes in trailers. There are still too many people unable to find work. And there are still too many New Orleanians, folks who haven’t been able to come home. So while an incredible amount of progress has been made, on this fifth anniversary, I wanted to come here and tell the people of this city directly: My administration is going to stand with you — and fight alongside you — until the job is done. (Applause.) Until New Orleans is all the way back, all the way. (Applause.)
When I took office, I directed my Cabinet to redouble our efforts, to put an end to the turf wars between agencies, to cut the red tape and cut the bureaucracy. (Applause.) I wanted to make sure that the federal government was a partner — not an obstacle — to recovery here in the Gulf Coast. And members of my Cabinet — including EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, who grew up in Pontchartrain Park — (applause) — they have come down here dozens of times. Shaun Donovan has come down here dozens of times. This is not just to make appearances. It’s not just to get photo ops. They came down here to listen and to learn and make real the changes that were necessary so that government was actually working for you.
So for example, efforts to rebuild schools and hospitals, to repair damaged roads and bridges, to get people back to their homes — they were tied up for years in a tangle of disagreements and byzantine rules. So when I took office, working with your outstanding delegation, particularly Senator Mary Landrieu, we put in place a new way of resolving disputes. (Applause.) We put in place a new way of resolving disputes so that funds set aside for rebuilding efforts actually went toward rebuilding efforts. And as a result, more than 170 projects are getting underway — work on firehouses, and police stations, and roads, and sewer systems, and health clinics, and libraries, and universities.
We’re tackling the corruption and inefficiency that has long plagued the New Orleans Housing Authority. We’re helping homeowners rebuild and making it easier for renters to find affordable options. And we’re helping people to move out of temporary homes. You know, when I took office, more than three years after the storm, tens of thousands of families were still stuck in disaster housing — many still living in small trailers that had been provided by FEMA. We were spending huge sums of money on temporary shelters when we knew it would be better for families, and less costly for taxpayers, to help people get into affordable, stable, and more permanent housing. So we’ve helped make it possible for people to find those homes, and we’ve dramatically reduced the number of families in emergency housing.
On the health care front, as a candidate for President, I pledged to make sure we were helping New Orleans recruit doctors and nurses, and rebuild medical facilities — including a new veterans hospital. (Applause.) Well, we have resolved a long-standing dispute — one that had tied up hundreds of millions of dollars — to fund the replacement for Charity Hospital. And in June, Veterans Secretary Ric Shinseki came to New Orleans for the groundbreaking of that new VA hospital.
In education, we’ve made strides as well. As you know, schools in New Orleans were falling behind long before Katrina. But in the years since the storm, a lot of public schools opened themselves up to innovation and to reform. And as a result, we’re actually seeing rising achievement, and New Orleans is becoming a model of innovation for the nation. This is yet another sign that you’re not just rebuilding — you’re rebuilding stronger than before. Just this Friday, my administration announced a final agreement on $1.8 billion dollars for Orleans Parish schools. (Applause.) This is money that had been locked up for years, but now it’s freed up so folks here can determine best how to restore the school system.
And in a city that’s known too much violence, that’s seen too many young people lost to drugs and criminal activity, we’ve got a Justice Department that’s committed to working with New Orleans to fight the scourge of violent crime, and to weed out corruption in the police force, and to ensure the criminal justice system works for everyone in this city. (Applause.) And I want everybody to hear — to know and to hear me thank Mitch Landrieu, your new mayor, for his commitment to that partnership. (Applause.)
Now, even as we continue our recovery efforts, we’re also focusing on preparing for future threats so that there is never another disaster like Katrina. The largest civil works project in American history is underway to build a fortified levee system. And as I — just as I pledged as a candidate, we’re going to finish this system by next year so that this city is protected against a 100-year storm. We should not be playing Russian roulette every hurricane season. (Applause.) And we’re also working to restore protective wetlands and natural barriers that were not only damaged by Katrina — were not just damaged by Katrina but had been rapidly disappearing for decades.
In Washington, we are restoring competence and accountability. I am proud that my FEMA Director, Craig Fugate, has 25 years of experience in disaster management in Florida. (Applause.) He came from Florida, a state that has known its share of hurricanes. We’ve put together a group led by Secretary Donovan and Secretary Napolitano to look at disaster recovery across the country. We’re improving coordination on the ground, and modernizing emergency communications, helping families plan for a crisis. And we’re putting in place reforms so that never again in America is somebody left behind in a disaster because they’re living with a disability or because they’re elderly or because they’re infirmed. That will not happen again. (Applause.)
Finally, even as you’ve been buffeted by Katrina and Rita, even as you’ve been impacted by the broader recession that has devastated communities across the country, in recent months the Gulf Coast has seen new hardship as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. And just as we’ve sought to ensure that we are doing what it takes to recover from Katrina, my administration has worked hard to match our efforts on the spill to what you need on the ground. And we’ve been in close consultation with your governor, your mayors, your parish presidents, your local government officials.
And from the start, I promised you two things. One is that we would see to it that the leak was stopped. And it has been. The second promise I made was that we would stick with our efforts, and stay on BP, until the damage to the Gulf and to the lives of the people in this region was reversed. And this, too, is a promise that we will keep. We are not going to forget. We’re going to stay on it until this area is fully recovered. (Applause.)
That’s why we rapidly launched the largest response to an environmental disaster in American history — 47,000 people on the ground, 5,700 vessels on the water — to contain and clean up the oil. When BP was not moving fast enough on claims, we told BP to set aside $20 billion in a fund — managed by an independent third party — to help all those whose lives have been turned upside down by the spill.
And we will continue to rely on sound science, carefully monitoring waters and coastlines as well as the health of the people along the Gulf, to deal with any long-term effects of the oil spill. We are going to stand with you until the oil is cleaned up, until the environment is restored, until polluters are held accountable, until communities are made whole, and until this region is all the way back on its feet. (Applause.)
So that’s how we’re helping this city, and this state, and this region to recover from the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. We’re cutting through the red tape that has impeded rebuilding efforts for years. We’re making government work better and smarter, in coordination with one of the most expansive non-profit efforts in American history. We’re helping state and local leaders to address serious problems that had been neglected for decades — problems that existed before the storm came, and have continued after the waters receded — from the levee system to the justice system, from the health care system to the education system.
And together, we are helping to make New Orleans a place that stands for what we can do in America — not just for what we can’t do. Ultimately, that must be the legacy of Katrina: not one of neglect, but of action; not one of indifference, but of empathy; not of abandonment, but of a community working together to meet shared challenges. (Applause.)
The truth is, there are some wounds that have not yet healed. And there are some losses that can’t be repaid. And for many who lived through those harrowing days five years ago, there’s searing memories that time may not erase. But even amid so much tragedy, we saw stirrings of a brighter day. Five years ago we saw men and women risking their own safety to save strangers. We saw nurses staying behind to care for the sick and the injured. We saw families coming home to clean up and rebuild — not just their own homes, but their neighbors’ homes, as well. And we saw music and Mardi Gras and the vibrancy, the fun of this town undiminished. And we’ve seen many return to their beloved city with a newfound sense of appreciation and obligation to this community.
And when I came here four years ago, one thing I found striking was all the greenery that had begun to come back. And I was reminded of a passage from the book of Job. “There is hope for a tree if it be cut down that it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease.” The work ahead will not be easy, and there will be setbacks. There will be challenges along the way. But thanks to you, thanks to the great people of this great city, New Orleans is blossoming again.
Thank you, everybody. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
END 2:16 P.M. CDT
新奥尔良被淹5周年 奥巴马称支持重建完成(图)
美国总统奥巴马29日在新奥尔良出席“卡特里娜”飓风灾难5周年纪念活动，称赞这座城市重现生机，承诺联邦政府将支持灾后重建，“直至工作完成”。
谈及同样令新奥尔良受害的墨西哥湾原油泄漏，奥巴马再次承诺“与新奥尔良人同在”，直至地区生态环境等完全复原。据新华社电
称赞复苏
奥巴马当天在路易斯安那泽维尔大学发表演讲。“卡特里娜”飓风过后，这座校园满是洪水，几成废墟，但不久即恢复正常教学。
奥巴马向投身灾后重建的人致敬：“因为你们，新奥尔良恢复原状。”
“新奥尔良本可以继续作为一种摧毁与衰亡的象征、一场风暴和不充分灾后应对的象征，但它现在象征坚韧，象征社区参与，象征我们彼此之间的基本责任感。”
“我们正共同帮助新奥尔良成为一个代表我们能在美国做到、而非不能做到的地方，”他说，“这必须是‘卡特里娜’的最终遗产：不是忽视，而是行动；不是冷漠，而是共鸣；不是遗弃，而是社区携手应对共同挑战。”
新奥尔良位于路易斯安那州东南部、密西西比河下游入海处，有“爵士乐摇篮”、文化熔炉之称。2005年8月29日，“卡特里娜”飓风重创墨西哥湾沿岸，新奥尔良八成城区遭淹，七成建筑损毁，至少1500人丧生，数十万人被迫离开家园。
如今，新奥尔良人口将近35万，恢复至“卡特里娜”风灾前80％的水平。美国凯泽家庭基金会今年5月至6月实施的调查显示，尽管59％的受访者认为新奥尔良人尚未完全从风灾中复原，但70％的市民相信这座城市在朝正确方向前进。
暗批对手
新奥尔良当年遭“卡特里娜”袭击后，由于政府反应迟缓，数以万计灾民受困，市区陷入极端混乱状态，抢劫、强奸、袭警等暴力事件频发。
灾区悲惨场景经电视镜头传至世界，时任乔治·W·布什政府受到国内外舆论抨击。而飓风袭击新奥尔良数日后，布什才到灾区视察并下令军队参与救援。
奥巴马2008年竞选总统时激烈批评布什和共和党政府救灾不力。29日演讲中，这位民主党人总统虽然没有点名批评布什或共和党，但列举自己上任以来灾后重建进展，包括加固堤防系统、让更多灾民入住永久住宅，以同前任形成对比。
奥巴马说，“卡特里娜”风灾“是自然灾害，更是一场人为大灾难，政府可耻地崩溃，导致无数男人、女人和孩子遭到遗弃、孤立无援”。“我不需要告诉你们，这里还有太多空置且荒草蔓生的土地，太多学生在拖车改造的教室里上课，太多人无法找到工作，太多新奥尔良人无力回家。”
奥巴马说，所以，他来到新奥尔良，直接告诉这座城市的人们：“我这一届政府将与你们站在一起，与你们并肩作战，直至工作完成。”
承诺清油
奥巴马政府也面临应对灾害不力的指责。墨西哥湾漏油致使南部沿海州遭遇生态灾难，尽管对奥巴马政府处理漏油的批评声罕有当年人们批评布什政府那样愤怒，但一些人依然认为奥巴马政府反应迟缓、缺乏协调、对英石油太客气。
美联社评述，经过5年时常伴随挫折与绝望的灾后重建，新奥尔良正逐渐复原，但漏油污染却给这座历史名城造成又一次打击。当地民众曾目睹布什应对“卡特里娜”风灾时的糟糕表现，对政府承诺多持怀疑态度，奥巴马需要安抚他们。
“在华盛顿，我们正重塑政府职能与责任，”奥巴马29日在演讲中说，“我们正把改革落实到位，这样，美国永远不会有人在灾难中遭遗弃。”
他向新奥尔良人作出当天第二份承诺：“与你们站在一起，直到污油清理干净，环境恢复正常，漏油责任者受到惩处，社区完全得到修复，这一地区恢复原状”。
不过，按美联社说法，奥巴马当天只作承诺，没有宣布任何新政策，也没有向新奥尔良提供任何“实惠”。
五年过去了，伤疤依旧存在
2005年8月1日，辛西娅·莫里森在新奥尔良东部购买了她的第一栋房子。当月月底，当她准备偿还第一笔房贷的时候，卡特里娜飓风将她的房子从地图上抹去。
就在飓风登陆前一天，洪水已将整个城市的80%淹没，当洪水开始蔓延到莫里森的邻居家中，她被疏散到其他地方。
但莫里森并没有远离太久。尽管她失去了房子，但在飓风过去5个月后，莫里森回到新奥尔良，她要帮助那些在飓风中失去家园的人。
而今天，莫里森说，她不能离开。“我觉得新奥尔良就像一个我刚失去的恋人，我想要回到‘他’的身边，”莫里森说，“我真的觉得我别无选择，我在其他任何地方都无法看到幸福和快乐。”
在搬到新奥尔良之前，莫里森穿梭于这个城市，希望能找到一份新的工作。飓风过后，莫里森开始工作，她加入一个名叫“今日卡特里娜援助”的组织，协助城市的恢复与重建；一年后，她成为一名个案经理；如今，她成了该组织的社区康复副主任。
莫里森亲眼目睹了这一地区人们的受灾情况，他们的家园被损毁，他们的情绪被破坏，有些人甚至在灾难中失去了一切。莫里森说，参与重建工作拯救了她。“我能给灾民提供帮助，这是一个巨大的心理安慰，”她说，“这真的帮我实现了自我愈合。”
五年过去了，卡特里娜给新奥尔良人带来的伤疤依旧存在。据大新奥尔良数据中心和布鲁金斯学会最近的研究，飓风过后，新奥尔良的暴力犯罪事件增多，犯罪率远高于美国其他州。
如今，莫里森住在一个充斥着暴力犯罪的小区——当地人都熟知这一情况。虽然此前一年多莫里森没有遇到过暴力犯罪，但最近这一状况出现了变化。她家房子的两个门被枪击，子弹孔仍旧在门牌上面。一个星期后，她的一个邻居去探望孙子时被杀害。莫里森说，有时她睡在卧室的地板上，因为她担心子弹会打到家里来。
尽管有着潜在的危险，但莫里森说，她不准备离开。“我从不关心新奥尔良的犯罪或其他危险事件，我永远也不关心，”她说，“什么是可能发生的最糟糕的事情？死亡？这难道是最糟的？”
莫里森说，她依旧充满信心，她希望她的精神能传染给其他新奥尔良人，帮助他们克服困难，继续重建家园。“人们离开这里，从此不再回来，这很容易，”她说，“相反，他们选择了回来。如果有人制造了障碍，我们就一定会绕过去！”编译/商靖
教育、医疗系统比受灾前更好
莫里森所在的“今日卡特里娜援助”组织给那些重建家园的人们提供热水器、空调以及电气工程管道等基本设施。他们还拨出资金，使灾民们的家中更加节能。
维罗尼卡·库珀是这一组织协助重建的对象之一。五年前，库珀一家八口躲在屋顶的阁楼上逃过了洪灾，包括她的三个孩子。虽然得以侥幸逃生，但库珀一家也失去了一切。飓风过去三天后，当库珀带着儿子走在街头，他们被一个喝醉酒的司机袭击。被“今日卡特里娜援助”组织营救后，库珀依然昏迷了好几天，并且住了三个多月的院。
如今，库珀已经完全康复。她说，她很高兴最终要回到自己的家。但库珀同时也指出，新奥尔良依然没有完全恢复正常，该城市的东部地区依旧零售业稀少，也缺少医院服务，并且还能看到不少在飓风中损毁的房屋，空置的房子也依然不少。
大新奥尔良数据中心和布鲁金斯学会的研究数据显示，虽然新奥尔良的房屋空置率高，但地铁的繁荣程度已经恢复到飓风到来之前的90%。该研究数据还显示，新奥尔良的就业机会也已恢复到受灾前的85%。
该研究报告概述了一些在教育、医疗保健和刑事司法系统方面的改善方法，称目前这些方面已经比受灾前的新奥尔良更好。
此外，居民的工资和家庭收入比受灾前明显增加，该地区还出现了更多的高科技产业以及更多更好的学校。 但是研究人员指出，新奥尔良仍然面临重大挑战，比如经济，尤其是新奥尔良的支柱产业旅游业及天然气业，在卡特里娜飓风中承受了毁灭性的打击，至今也没能完全恢复。
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