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Hispanics Cope With Katrina
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The Mississippi Gulf Coast is still struggling after a battering by Hurricane Katrina. And many of the workers who came to clean up and rebuild feel like strangers in a strange land. But those workers have a friend who’s helping shape the future of an area that’s going through a lot of changes since the storm. Reed Galin has the story. [Español] |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Biloxi, Mississippi)
As the Gulf Coast rebuilds after Hurricane Katrina, it’s not just the
landscape that’s changing.
The Rev. Sally Bevill/Hispanic-Latino Ministries: “We understand that
the Hispanic population was about 15,000 before Katrina. We’re well over
50,000 now.”
Hispanic workers are flocking to Biloxi, looking for jobs and hoping for
a better life for their families. But they face some big challenges.
The Rev. Sally Bevill/Hispanic-Latino Ministries: “Just helping people
get their children in school. We’ve had a lot of people whose wages
didn’t get paid.”
United Methodist pastor Sally Bevill heads a new ministry helping
immigrants in Mississippi. Many have trouble finding houses they can
afford. The program helped Maria Castillo catch up on her rent while
caring for her family after the hurricane.
Maria Castillo/Cuban Immigrant (with translator): “I don’t have the
words to describe how what they’ve done has helped me.”
Bevill says some workers have been mugged while carrying cash because
they cannot open bank accounts.
The Rev. Sally Bevill/Hispanic-Latino Ministries: “And people think
because they may be undocumented or they don’t speak the language, that
they can just abuse them.”
(ESL class): “Let’s review the parts of the body." “Ankle. Foot.”
Here new arrivals can learn English … and build confidence to speak up.
Francisca Hernandez/Immigrant (with translator): “I can go to the store
and I’m not afraid, because somebody can ask me a question and I’ll be
able to answer them. Or I can go to the doctor and they’re able to
understand me and I’m able to understand them.”
And despite the devastation of the storms, Bevill sees new
possibilities.
The Rev. Sally Bevill/Hispanic-Latino Ministries: “We’re watching a new
creation along the coast…a new community, a place where God is taking
what was so devastating, and making something hopeful and new out of it.
And to be a part of that is life-changing.”
TAG:
The National Weather Service is forecasting a very active Atlantic
hurricane season this year. Scientists predict 13 to 17 named storms,
with seven to 10 becoming hurricanes.
For more information on the programs offered to immigrants in
Mississippi, contact The Rev. Sally Bevill at the Hispanic-Latino
Ministry of the United Methodist Church, at 228-388-3397.