Or maybe they were being repressed!
Posted on 09/02/2005 1:01:16 PM PDT by aculeus
Around 30 Britons sheltering in a sports stadium after Hurricane Katrina are being re-located to hotels in Texas, the Foreign Office said.
The move comes after stories emerged of violent confrontations, bullying and shortages of food and water at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
Overall, the Foreign Office said there were around 100 British people in Louisiana when the hurricane struck.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "There were 20 to 30 British people in the dome, and they are being moved out to hotels in Dallas and Houston and other places in Texas.
"There is a lot of confusion about what is happening at the moment, but we are working closely with the US authorities to try to get a clearer picture."
'Chaos'
The Camp America organisation, which provides work placements for young adults, said earlier they believed one of their workers, from Epsom in Surrey, was still in the dome.
A Camp America spokesman said they would do everything possible to get him to the safety of a hotel as soon as possible.
"They were being targeted because they were the only white people there" Jonathan Trout
The Daily Mirror carried extracts from the diary of Jamie Trout, 22, one of the Britons trapped in the dome for four days, who said it was "like Lord of the Flies".
Mr Trout's brother, Jonathan, from Sunderland, told BBC News his brother had now been transferred to the nearby Hyatt Hotel, along with most of the other stranded Britons and other foreigners.
Another Briton, Keith Nelson, said his son, Will, had also now been moved from the Superdome after three days.
He told the BBC: "On the third day the army told them that it was getting too dangerous so they moved them to another, smaller stadium.
"Some of the army got shot and the army refused to go into the dome so they moved them again to the Hyatt hotel."
International group
A number of UK families are still waiting for news of their loved ones.
Mark Hashmy, 36, sent his mother a text message on Monday describing the destruction he had witnessed.
"Disaster area, no power for weeks, freeway flooded and blocked, and they can't fix.
"No shops, no food, no petrol, no nothing! Army helicopters everywhere. We are isolated."
Mark Graydon, from Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, and his 23-year-old American girlfriend Gretchen sought refuge in the Superdome last Sunday.
His father, John Graydon, said the British authorities told him on Thursday his son would be moved from the dome within 24 hours. By Friday evening he had not heard anything more.
Gloria Hashmy, of Kingsbridge, south Devon, has not heard from her son since the text and is desperate for news.
She told the Western Morning News: "I'm in absolute turmoil and I'm not going to know anything till God knows when."
'Crushed'
Elizabeth Pond was relieved to hear from a friend that father Alan, 59, had not been hurt in the hurricane.
"Bullying tactics are taking place - it is being run by the strong" John Graydon
Ms Pond, 30, had been due to leave the UK and move to New Orleans permanently, shipping all of her belongings already, but now does not know how long it will take for normality to return.
Claire McMath, from Bristol, said she had been immensely worried about her great aunt and uncle and cousins.
They had been stopped from escaping because one of the family is disabled and unable to move.
"The house was crushed by a tree and the neighbours had to pull them out."
In addition to the Foreign Office hotline, there is also a 24-hour contact number for the British consulate in Houston, which is 001 713 659 6270.
Published: 2005/09/02 19:20:39 GMT
© BBC MMV
Al Sharpton and JJ are flying in to denounce the racism..
In England maybe.
that is my point exactly. murdered and raped because of the color of their white skin. it is going on down there and no one except the foreign press is brave enough to report it. people are being killed uptown because they are white. it has got to stop. we in texas are opening up our resources to help these thugs. the innocent are suffering too. condem these acts all you so called black(weak) leaders.
I am so embarrassed for my country, and deeply ashamed of some of it's citizens.
Britain: We apologize for the criminal and despicable behavior of some of our citizens.
AND all I said was that there may be chaos in the streets here in TX. after reading this:
Arrivals were being searched for weapons. Capt. John Anderson of the Houston Police Department’s homeland security division said police had found six pistols and about a dozen knives this morning
You wouldn't beleive the ugly responses. Attacking me personally.
They left out the last part of that message . . .
'Tis almost as bad as that Manchester-Leeds game last spring.
This FRiends, is the heart of this article. PC bullcrap. Kill 20 or 30 of the hooligan scum and this crap would end instantaneously.
In my business, this is what we call a "bad career move."
And that has nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina, BTW.
Don't worry about it. I was on another thread several days ago where a FR poster was damned to hell because, in his opinion, able bodied NO residents should have walked out before the hurricane hit. They are sure the heck walking out now......just a little late.
You must be new to the internet. Nothing is personal here. It's all completely impersonal. Pay no attention and move on.
similar to the story about the Aussies.
I grew up in New Orleans. I know what we are as a people down there and what we can become. So let them attack me. Some of us here (Dallas) along with a coworker in Houston are going to donate time, money and clothing to these shelters. In fact the coworker in Houston just took a stranger in for the night. A former catholic who has just converted to Muslim. Even if I was not doing this, we all have a right to express our opinions. We see what we see and what I see just breaks my heart.
So don't let them get you down.
Thanks y'all, will do.
God Bless!
That's exactly how I feel too. I don't recall hearing about tourists being beaten, mugged, or raped after the Tsunami, which struck a supposedly "less civilized" part of the world. I't hurts to say it, but despite our laws, or wealth, and all the privileges we enjoy, we're obviously less civilized than the villagers who suffered through that with better grace and dignity, who never lost their sense of right and wrong because they were suffering.
I’m very upset about this. Where are the heros: the fire chiefs, the police captains? They’ve joined the looters in some cases! And His Honor, the mayor: what’s his contribution? He gets on TV and curses the president! Where’s the governor? She’s on TV crying!!!
This is pathetic! These aren’t leaders; these are DISGRACES!
I am so ashamed.
That's correct, you "didn't hear about it", because they didn't have 24/7 cable news channels spinning ratings charts. If you think nothing like this happens in third world crapholes, I invite you to step onto an aircraft and go visit for a week or two after the next flood, in say Bangladash or Shri Lanka. Get a grip FRiend.
Or maybe they were being repressed!
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