“Katrina and theAsian American Community”

Congressional Briefing

Hosted by

Congressional Asian PacificAmerican Caucus

NationalCouncil of Asian Pacific Americans

National

Alliance

of VietnameseAmerican Service Agencies

 

When:Thursday, September 29, 2005

Where:

Rayburn

Building

,Room 2105

Time:3:00 – 4:30 PM

For more information, contact

Tong Lee

(NCAPA) at (202) 296-2300 x. 123, Linda Hoang (NAVASA) at (301) 587-2781, orVictoria Tung (CAPAC) at (202) 225-2631. 

The briefing will feature speakers who have been inthe region helping to provide relief and provide access to policy expertsworking on responses.  The discussion will highlight the currentchallenges faced by Asian Americans hit by Hurricane Katrina. 

Louisiana

was home to over 50,000 Asian Americans, of which more than half wereVietnamese.  Most of them lived in the areas affected by HurricaneKatrina.  An estimated 10,000 Vietnamese evacuees relocated to

Houston

.

Southern Mississippi

was also home to about 7,000 Vietnamese and other Asian residents, many of themnow displaced.  The hurricane also hurt Chinese, Filipino, Bangladeshi andKorean Americans who also have been affected.

Manyof the Asian Americans in the Gulf coast region hit by Katrina are refugees andimmigrants, some are undocumented.  Asian Americans helping to providerelief and victims of the hurricane are reporting that they have been unable tosecure information and timely help due to language difficulties.  WithAsian American community infrastructure and resources limited in places likeBayou La Batre, Alabama, Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Gulfport, Mississippi, manyAsian American faith based organizations have stepped in to help but are overwhelmedby the need.  In cities like

Houston

,extended relatives and community based organizations are providing directassistance to the Asian American evacuees, but are running out of resources andneed help. 

Remarks:

RepresentativeAl Green (TX-9)

RepresentativeMichael Honda (CA-15) and Chair of CAPAC

KarenK. Narasaki

, President of National Asian American LegalConsortium and Chair of NCAPA (moderator)

Huy Bui, Executive Director, National

Alliance

of Vietnamese American Service Agencies

Presenters:

 

Dr.Nguyen Dinh Thang, Executive Director, Boat People SOS (

Houston

relief)

Jon Melegrito, National Communications Director, NationalFederation of Filipino American Associations (

Baton Rouge

relief efforts)

Rev.Bao Nguyen,

Baptist

Church

(faith based work with victims in Bayou La Batre,

Alabama

)

VenerableHang Dat,

Buddhist

Temple

(faith based work with victims in

Biloxi

,

Mississippi

)

Juliet Choi, Staff Attorney, National Asian PacificAmerican Legal Consortium (physical and mental health issues)

Evacuee from

New Orleans

region (invited)

Agencies invited to present:

JamesSchumann, Director of Legislative Affairs for FEMA (invited)

JanLane, Vice President of Government Affairs for Red Cross (invited)

Policy Experts:

Traci Hong, Director of ImmigrationProgram, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (immigration andnoncitizen eligibility issues)

Doua Thor, Executive Director,

Southeast Asia

Resource

Action

Center

(appropriations and refugee system as potential resource)