Dancing and singing in call and response at a ceremonial gathering in Haiti. Photos: Rita Daniels

Aftershocks continue to rock the island nation of Haiti, one-million people are homeless and more than 150,000 are confirmed dead. Mass burials and cremations in the streets have now replaced search and rescue efforts. On this edition, we take a look at the roots of the devastation of Haiti’s capital – Its history with the US, the militarization of American relief efforts and the economic policies that contributed to its people’s plight.

Featuring:

Daniel Brevil, Haitian-born master drummer and San Francisco Bay-Area resident; Bill Quigley, Center for Constitutional Rights Legal Director; Gabe Gonzalez, Center for Community Change Campaign Director; Pat Robertson, televangelist; Pierre Labossierre, Haiti Action Committee; Brian Concannon, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti Director; Colette Eloi, San Francisco bay-area based folkloric Haitian dance teacher; Guy de Chalus, student of traditional Haitian drumming.

Contributing Producer: Rita Daniels

—

A Report-back from a Survivor in Haiti

The recovery efforts continue in Haiti amidst a rising death toll which has now topped one hundred and fifty thousand. As the Haitian people continue to struggle for survival, we bring you a story of hope and courage. Haitian-born Daniel Brevil is a world renowned master drummer and a San Francisco Bay Area resident. He was in Port Au Prince visiting family when the quake struck.  He’s still there. Making Contact spoke to him from the center of the disaster more than a week after the quake.

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Why is Haiti Seeing More Guns than Aid?

The Haitian community has banded together and pooled their resources to help feed, clothe and administer medical care to each other since the earthquake struck on January 12th. And although aid is reportedly starting to trickle into the Port-Au-Prince metropolitan area, there is widespread concern that people are still seeing more guns than aid. Why is that? We spoke to Bill Quigley. He’s the Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.

—

Economic Roots of the Devastation in Haiti

While the international community mobilizes to get aid – and guns – to Haiti, others are sending money and prayers. No matter where you were in the world when news of the devastation hit, disbelief seemed to be a global common denominator.  How could Haiti be dealt another blow, when it has already suffered so much?  Making Contact’s Pauline Bartolone searched for some answers.

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Haitian Dance Shows Culture of Resilience

African-rooted folkloric dance is a staple of everyday Haitian life. You see it in many places, including local ceremonies and national events.  But there is a community of Haitians and non-Haitians around the globe that has studied the art for years and transported it beyond the island nation. Making Contact’s Rita Daniels attended a Haitian dance class in Oakland, CA just days after the earthquake.

—

For More Information:

Center for Community Change
Washington, DC

Center for Constitutional Rights
New York, NY

Doctors Without Borders
New York, NY

Haiti Action Committee
Berkeley, CA

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
Joseph, OR

Partners in Health
Haiti

TransAfrica Forum
Washington, DC

Articles and Radio Essays

“Holding Up Haiti: Women Respond to Nightmare Earthquake”

“The Power of History–Haiti” by Mumia Abu-Jamal

It's lots of New Orleans Women's Health Clinic staff and volunteers renovating the clinic. Source: INCITE!

Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005, ranks among the costliest disasters in lost human lives and destroyed property in U.S. history. And while a full three years have passed since the storm, New Orleans and the surrounding region are still in a state of “rebuilding”. But what does that mean in real terms for many of its citizens? How does this ongoing state of recovery translate into the daily lives of the city’s marginalized populations? Migrants. Communities of color. Working class women. Queer and transgendered people.

On this edition, we talk to activists and visionaries from the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic who are reinventing their community’s health and wellness landscape one person at a time.

This program is made possible in part by The Reproductive Justice Fund at the Tides Foundation.

Featuring:

Shana Griffin, New Orleans Women’s Health and Justice Initiative interim executive director and Incite! New Orleans member; Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic medical director; Mandisa Moore, New Orleans Women’s Health and Justice Initiative member; Monique, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic family nurse practitioner; Lanora, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic office manager; Shelanda, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic patient; Narda Hernandez, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic Spanish interpreter.

Executive Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Producer: Andrew Stelzer
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Executive Director: Lisa Rudman
Associate Director: Khanh Pham
RJ coordinator: Elena Botkin-Levy
Intern: Aubrey Green

For more information:

Women’s Health and Justice Initiative – New Orleans, LA

INCITE! – Redmond, WA

INCITE! New Orleans

Other helpful links:

Common Ground Health Clinic – New Orleans, LA

Lower 9th Ward Homeowner’s Association – New Orleans, LA

Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans – New Orleans, LA

Neighborhood Story Project – New Orleans, LA

Rebuilding the Seventh Ward

Partnering organizations:

Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) – Oakland, CA

Different Avenues – Washington, DC

Exhale – Oakland, CA

Generations Ahead – Oakland, CA

Kalpulli Izkalli – Albuquerque, NM

National Advocates for Pregnant Women – New York, NY

Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center – Lake Andes, SD

National Health Law Program – Los Angeles, CA

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice – Washington, DC

SPARK reproductive rights now – Atlanta, GA

Western States Center – Portland, OR

Staff of the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic. Source: INCITE!

Women across the nation are struggling with access to quality comprehensive reproductive health services. The women hit hardest are the ones who can least afford it, particularly poor and homeless women, young women and women of color. But solutions are coming–as women’s health issues continue to become more integrated into the overall social justice conversation. Eveline Shen from Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice speaks about the reproductive justice movement, and we’ll hear about community-based work in San Francisco, Denver and New Orleans.

This program is made possible in part by The Reproductive Justice Fund at the Tides Foundation.

Featuring:

Eveline Shen, Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice executive director.

Segment 1: Homeless Prenatal Project

Laura Cooper, HPP client; Antoinette Fort, HPP Family Case Manager; Martha Ryan, HPP executive director; Sarena Saeed, HPP volunteer center coordinator; Nancy Frappier, HPP Training and Wellness Center coordinator.

Segment 2: New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic

Shana Griffin, New Orleans Women’s Health and Justice Initiative interim executive director and Incite! New Orleans member; Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic medical director; Mandisa Moore, New Orleans Women’s Health and Justice Initiative member; Monique, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic family nurse practitioner; Lanora, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic office manager; Shelanda, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic patient.

Segment 3: Unintended Consequences

Felicia Barajas, teen mom; Jocelyn Martinez, Denver Teen Pregnancy Prevention Partnership program director; Lori Casillas, Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention executive director; Selene Garcia, Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition program manager; Jacy Montoya, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights executive director; Diane Amaya, ninth grader at Lincoln High School, Latinas of Vision member; Diana Carrillo, mother of Diane Amaya; Diana Morelos, godmother to Brenda; Roque Alvarez, an 8th grade student in Latinas of Vision.

Making Contact Crew:

Executive Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Contributing Producers: Grace Hood, Elena Botkin-Levy, Tena Rubio
Producer: Andrew Stelzer
Executive Director: Lisa Rudman
Associate Director: Khanh Pham
RJ coordinator: Elena Botkin-Levy
Intern: Aubrey Green

Bonus Audio:

Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic medical director
128k broadcast-quality mp3

Shana Griffin, New Orleans Women’s Health and Justice Initiative interim executive director and Incite! New Orleans member
128k broadcast-quality mp3

Mandisa Moore, New Orleans Women’s Health and Justice Initiative member
128k broadcast-quality mp3

Narda Hernandez, New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic Spanish interpreter
128k broadcast-quality mp3

Monique , New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic family nurse practitioner
128k broadcast-quality mp3

For more information:

Women’s Health and Justice Initiative – New Orleans, LA

INCITE! – Redmond, WA

Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunities and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) – Denver, CO

Homeless Prenatal Program – San Francisco, CA

Partnering organizations:

Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) – Oakland, CA

Different Avenues – Washington, DC

Exhale – Oakland, CA

Generations Ahead – Oakland, CA

Kalpulli Izkalli – Albuquerque, NM

National Advocates for Pregnant Women – New York, NY

Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center – Lake Andes, SD

National Health Law Program – Los Angeles, CA

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice – Washington, DC

SPARK reproductive rights now – Atlanta, GA

Western States Center

For additional information:

Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco – San Francisco, CA

Colorado Health Foundation – Denver, CO

Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention (COAPPP) – Denver, CO

Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition – Westminster, CO

Denver Area Youth Services – Denver, CO

Denver Public Schools – Denver, CO

Denver School Based Health Centers – Denver, CO

Denver Teen Pregnancy Prevention Partnership – Denver, CO

Girls, Inc. Denver – Denver, CO

Homeless Resource Center

National Center on Family Homelessness – Newton Centre, MA

National Coalition for the Homeless – Washington, DC

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains – Denver, CO

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Washington, DC

San Francisco 2007 Homeless Count – San Francisco, CA

Marco Amador (top), caregiver and her charge (middle), Iraqi refugees flee the burning city of Basra (bottom). Source: (top to bottom): Blair Wells, Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, Scotsman.com

As the year 2007 ends, we reflect on three key issues we covered this past year and hear the voices of: the immigrant labor force in post-hurricane New Orleans, domestic workers in the United States, and Iraqi refugees on the streets of Damascus.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Interns: Samson Reiny, Joaquin Palomino, and Elena Botkin-Levy

Featuring:

First segment from New Orleans:

Arthur Robinson, independent business owner; Israel Lopez, immigrant labor worker; Marco Amador, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice field worker & National Day Laborer Organizing Network member.

For more information:

New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice

Loyola Workplace Justice Project

The New Orleans Worker Justice Coalition

National Day Laborer Organizing Network

Second Segment on Domestic Workers:

Radha Kanan, domestic worker; Christine Lewis, domestic worker; Joyce Frances, domestic worker; Erline Brown, domestic worker; Marina Lopez, domestic worker; Joyce Campbell, domestic worker; Sylvia, domestic worker and volunteer, Mujeres Unidas y Activas.

For more information:

Domestic Workers United- New York, NY

United Domestic Workers of America – San Diego, CA

Mujeres Unidas y Activas - San Francisco Bay Area

Data Center – Oakland, CA

Day Labor Program of Women’s Collective of La Raza Centro Legal – San Francisco, CA

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) – Los Angeles, CA

National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (NNIRR) – Oakland, CA

National Immigrant Solidarity Network -Los Angeles, CA

Third Segment on Iraqi Refugees:

Eman Abdul Rahid, Iraqi woman whose arm was broken in a car bomb; Adhem Mardini, UNHCR public information officer, Damascus office; Abu Noor, Iraqi man, retired teacher; Omar Jassim, 40-year old Iraqi man, laborer; Rathman Shakr, Iraqi man, former detainee, tortured heavily; Adnan, 59 year-old Iraqi man, ex-Army officer; Dr. Omar Al-Khattab, young Iraqi doctor, fled his country due to direct death threat; Sarrah, 20 year-old Iraqi woman, student of dentistry; Hummam al-Mukhtar, 17 year old Iraqi student; Hussam, 22 year old Iraqi student studying communication engineering in Syria; Adel Al-Jabbah, old Syrian man who owns a spice shop in the souk; Amir Alaby, Syrian man who owns a soap and sweet shop; Adnan #2, Syrian merchant, blames Bush for the crisis; Abdel Aziz, 30 year-old Syrian man, owns stationary store.

For more information:

Dahr Jamail’s MidEast Dispatches

Refugee International – Washington, DC

IRIN (U.N. based humanitarian news agency for excellent reports and updates on the refugee crisis)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

New York Delegation to the U.N. – New York, NY

Renaissance Village Trailer Park Source: Boston Globe

It’s called Renaissance Village. But don’t let the name fool you. It’s the largest FEMA trailer park in the country. It is located about a hundred miles north of New Orleans in Baker, Louisiana.

Right after Hurricane Katrina and Rita, thousands were sent to live there. More than two years after the storm, hundreds of families are still stuck in the trailer park.

We will hear from youth living in Renaissance Village, as well as women living in other FEMA-run trailer parks. We will also hear from those trying to help them get out.

Featuring:

Saket Soni, New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice; Eric Walker, Rasheka London, Keyana London, Renaissance Village youth; Anchanese Levison, Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights; Vicktoria Cintra, FEMA trailer park resident.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Contributing Freelance Producers: the People’s Production House, Ancahnese Levison, Eric Walker, Rasheka London and Keyana London.
Interns: Samson Reiny, Joaquin Palomino, and Elena Botkin-Levy

For more information:

New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice – New Orleans, LA

Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights - Greenville, MS

The People’s Production House – New York, NY

Ms. Foundation for Women – New York, NY

FEMA – Washington, DC

Gulf Coast Housing Partnership – New Orleans, LA

Common Ground Relief – New Orleans, LA

Color of Change -

Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch – Durham, NC

Gulf Restoration Network – New Orleans, LA

Hands On Gulf Coast – Biloxie, MS

Katrina Information Network – Washington, DC

KatrinaRitaVille Express: FEMA Trailer Tour – Baker, LA

An hour-long version of this program is available here.

Bobby Rideau of New Orleans hangs his head after cars, including a state police vehicle, ignored his requests for water. Source:Andre F. Chung, Baltimore Sun

It’s been two years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast. Two years since the levees broke and changed the face of an entire city, state and region. Despite hopeful signs of renewal, New Orleans and many parts of the Gulf Coast are still in disrepair. So how much has really changed? How much has stayed the same?

On this edition, we’ll meet day laborers, grassroots organizers, mental healthcare workers and we’ll hear from musicians who are keeping the music and culture alive.

Featuring:

“Remembering New Orleans News Flash” ­ various news voices reporting on
Hurricane Katrina.

“Gulf Coast Mental Health Care” ­ Judy Jones, registered nurse and Disaster Ministry medical coordinator at Bethel Lutheran Church, Biloxi, Mississippi; Judy Bultman, Katrina Ministry director; Peter Salame, volunteer; Dr. Carol Jones, William Carey University’s Gulfport Campus psychology director and Project Relief director; Jennifer Knight, Mississippi Gulf Coast Children’s Health Project coordinator; Marjorie Gearheart, Mississippi Gulf Coast Children’s Health Project social workers.

“Youth Radio’s Angelica Robinson” ­ Angelica Robinson, narrator and lower ninth ward resident; Robert, Christopher and Raymond Robertson, her brothers; Robert Sr. and Angelique, her dad and mom.

“Immigrant and Migrant Laborers” ­ Israel Lopez, Senor Jose Castillo, Manuel, Lorenzo Alvarado Duran, immigrant labor workers; Marco Amador, National Day Laborer Organizing Network member and New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice field worker.

“New Orleans Musicians” ­ Joe Cabral and Roy Hodges, Iguanas co-founder; Keith Frasier, Rebirth Brass Band drummer; Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu; Terence Blanchard, Trumpeter and New Orleans native.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio, Open Society Institute Fellow
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Contributing Freelancers: Sarah Olson, Youth Radio’s Angelica Robinson, Reese Erlich
Sound Editor: Matt Fidler
Interns: Samson Reiny, Joaquin Palomino

This series was made possible in part by the PRX (Public Radio Exchange) Reversioning Project, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Open Society Institute.

For more information:

Mississippi Gulf Coast Children’s Health Project, (The Children’s Health Fund) – New York, NY

Project Relief in Gulfport Mississippi

Bethel Lutheran Church – Biloxi, MS

The People’s Hurricane Relief Fund (PHRF) – New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice

Work Place Justice Project- 504-861-5550; molina@loyno.edu

New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund

New Orleans Music Clinic-Keepin’ the Music Alive

Youth Radio,
Oakland, CA

Reviews of this program on PRX (Public Radio Exchange):

Posted: 8-23-2007
Reviewer: David Swatling , Radio Netherlands

Every radio station in the US should make use of this Katrina special – tailered to your needs with one-hour & half-hour versions, or individual segments. I listened to the full hour which flew by even though I’d heard some of the material in a program last year. But it’s all been refreshed and updated.

It begins with a rich montage of voices and music, followed by a recap of original news coverage which ends with a voice filled with so much emotion I found tears filling my eyes – and this at only 8 minutes into the program. A powerful introduction!

The stories which follow are all excellently produced testaments to individual grit and determination in the face adversity and frustration: the passionate organizer of Common Ground, abused immigrant construction workers, a 15 year old girl who weathered the storm with her family.

What’s extraordinary is how often the word “hope” is still spoken – despite the appalling failings of the Bush administration. It’s unfathomable that one of America’s great treasures has been left to fend for itself while billions are spent waging war in Iraq. I’m not a particularly religeous person but I say, God bless New Orleans and God bless the National Radio Project for this inspiring reminder of the city’s indomitable spirit and will to rise again.

Rating: 5/5
Adjectives: Provocative, Real, Sound Rich

~~~

Posted: 8-21-2007
Reviewer: Mik Davis, WUSM

“2 Years After Katrina” is a stunning piece of audio journalism. It uses the voices of those affected by the storm and its aftermath to illustrate the damage and the struggle to recover that goes on today. By avoiding a central broadcaster and focusing on those unheard voices, it is blistering and real. Since it is so realistic, my recommendation is only for those stations in locations that were not in Katrina’s wake.

Rating: 4/5
Adjectives: Contemplative, Emotional, Sound Rich

Musicians have always been the heart and soul of New Orleans and like everyone else in the flood damaged city, they’re struggling to survive. Two years after the disaster, only half of the residents have returned, and large swaths of the region remain as uninhabitable as the day the levees broke. And yet the bands play on.

On this edition, correspondent Reese Erlich talks with musicians to learn how the historic New Orleans music scene endures and how new influences are bringing hope to the struggling city.

The Tremé Brass Band belts out a tune during the "One New Orleans" jazz funeral procession. Source: Kevin Horan for USN&WR

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard, world famous jazz artist and composer; Wilhelmina Blanchard, mom; Spike Lee, independent filmmaker, writer, producer, director; Keith Frasier, Rebirth Brass Band; Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter and composer; Shannon Powell, New Orleans jazz drummer; Marissa Rodriguez, hosts Mexican music show in New Orleans; Wilfredo Guzman, a Honduran immigrant who works as a roofer; Francisco Flores, owns store in New Orleans; Joe Cabral and Rod Hodges, “The Iguanas” founding members; Javier Gutierrez, founder of the New Orleans salsa band “Vivaz.”

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Sound Editor: Matt Fidler

Interns: Puck Lo, Samson Reiny and Joaquin Palomino

For more information:

New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund

New Orleans Music Clinic-Keepin¹ the Music Alive

Sweet Home New Orleans

The Tipitina’s Foundation – New Orleans, LA

Arabi Wrecking Krewe, Inc. – Mandeville, LA

New Orleans Habitat for Humanity

WWOZ

Source: Alison McCrary

Wander through New Orleans’ historic French Quarter today and you might believe the revival of the city after Hurricane Katrina’s destruction is complete. Restaurants, shops, hotels and clubs are up and running. Almost miraculously, it seems all is back to normal.

But no miracle has been performed here. Walk outside the French Quarter and you will see an American city and its people largely abandoned by its government and left in near total disrepair, struggling to reclaim some semblance of order and normal life.

On this edition, we will hear from four people speaking at the U.S. Social Forum. They are working to rebuild and strengthen their damaged communities.

Featuring:

Uyen Le, National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies Community Development Fellow; Sharon Hanshaw, Coastal Women for Change Executive Director; Viola Washington, People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and the Welfare Rights Organization; Daniel Castellanos, Alliance of Guest Workers for Dignity and Workers Center for Racial Justice Organizer.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Interns:  Samson Reiny and Puck Lo
Mixing Engineer:  Mike Lamar

For more information:

National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies -

Coastal Women for Change – Biloxi, MS

People’s Hurricane Relief Fund -

People’s Hurricane Relief Fund
1418 N. Claiborne, Suite 2
New Orleans, LA 70116
504-301-0215; info@peopleshurricane.org

New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice & Alliance of Guestworkers for Dignity
803 Baronne Street
New Orleans, LA 70113
504-881-6587

The New Orleans Worker Justice Coalition

Loyola Workplace Justice Project
504-861-5550; molina@loyno.edu

National Day Laborer Organizing Network

United States Social Forum

Source: Latino Health Outreach Project

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 40 million people in the U.S. without health insurance. Those mostly affected: people with low income and people of color. Now, imagine you’re both and from another country. You’ve come to help rebuild New Orleans and you find yourself working in unsanitary, unregulated and hazardous conditions. Where do you go for help if you get hurt or you get sick?

On this edition, part three of our immigration series, we hear from two people who have affected countless lives by providing a basic necessity: health care.

This series was made possible in part by the Open Society Institute.

Featuring:

Jennifer Whitney, Latino Health Outreach Project (LHOP) co-founder and coordinator; Dr. Ravi Vadlamudi, Common Ground Health Clinic medical director & Tulane University¹s Uptown Square Clinic doctor.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio,Open Society Institute Fellow
Mixing Engineer: Phillip Babich
Interns: Alexis McCrimmon and Samson Reiny
Translation: Frank Rubio, Andrew Reisseger, Christine M. Rodriguez
Voiceover talent: Jose Ramirez, Dr. Joseph Khamsi, Paul Bieber, Samson Reiny, Steve Masar, Christopher Williams, Aaron Shuman, Joshua Grossman
Transcribing: Casting Word

Much appreciation to all the people who contributed their time, energy and support to this show, Eve Troeh, David Kunian, Claire Schoen, all of those listed above and especially to Steve Masar and Emily Polk.

For more information:

Latino Health Outreach Project – New Orleans, LA

Common Ground Health Clinic (Latino Health Outreach Project) – New Orleans, LA

Other helpful links:

Workplace Justice Project
Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
7214 St. Charles Ave., Box 901
New Orleans, LA 70118  504-861-5550

New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice (NOWJC)

Southern Poverty Law Center – Montgomery, AL

The People’s Hurricane Relief Fund (PHRF)
1418 N. Claiborne, Suite 2
New Orleans, LA 70116
504-301-0125; 1-888-310-PHRF; info@peopleshurricane.org

From top: Immigrant workers in New Orleans, Eva San Martin, Saket Soni. Source: Blair Wells

New Orleans is the largest construction site in the United States. Countless houses, businesses and public facilities are being rebuilt by an immigrant and migrant workforce that is mostly new to the area. Some were invited as part of the U.S. “Guest Worker” program. Some were already here in this country, and others came from hundreds of miles away, betting their futures on the promise of work and fair pay. The work is here, but too often the pay is not.

On this edition, part two of our immigration series, we hear from the people on the ground making a difference in the lives of these workers and from the workers themselves.

This series was made possible in part by the Open Society Institute.

Featuring:

Father Joe Benson, pastor, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Church; Eva San Martin, Hispanic Apostolate outreach worker; Francisco, migrant worker, Israel Lopez, Manuel, Lorenzo Alvarado Duran, and Rafael Sanchez, immigrant laborers; Luz Molina, director and founder, Workplace Justice Project, and Loyola Law School professor; Saket Soni, founder and organizer, New Orleans
Worker Center for Racial Justice.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio,Open Society Institute Fellow
Mixing Engineer: Phillip Babich
Interns: Alexis McCrimmon and Samson Reiny
Translation: Frank Rubio, Andrew Reisseger, Christine M. Rodriguez
Voiceover talent: Jose Ramirez, Dr. Joseph Khamsi, Paul Bieber, Samson Reiny, Steve Masar, Christopher Williams, Aaron Shuman, Joshua Grossman
Transcribing: Casting Word

Much appreciation to all the people who contributed their time, energy and support to this show, Eve Troeh, David Kunian, Claire Schoen, all of those listed above and especially to Steve Masar and Emily Polk.

For more information:

Workplace Justice Project
Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
7214 St. Charles Ave., Box 901
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-861-5550

New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice (NOWJC)
The New Orleans Worker Justice Coalition
504-363-1108; organizer@neworleansworkerjustice.org

Hispanic Apostolate – Kenner, LA

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Church
3053 Dauphine St.
New Orleans, LA 70117-6794
504-943-5566

National Day Laborer Organizing Network

Other helpful links:

Common Ground Health Clinic (Latino Health Outreach Project) – New Orleans, LA

The People’s Hurricane Relief Fund (PHRF)
1418 N. Claiborne, Suite 2
New Orleans, LA 70116
504-301-0125; 1-888-310-PHRF; info@peopleshurricane.org

Southern Poverty Law Center – Montgomery, AL

National Immigration Law Center – Los Angeles, CA

Hope House
916 Saint Andrew St
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-522-5881