It is 800-1000, all of whom at least initially will be at WaMo unless the Red Cross overnight signs an agreement for a second location (and they do intend to find at least a second, if not also a third). It does not appear at this point that the RC is all that interest in Wapato, precisely because tossing a bunch of refugees into a jail -- even an unlocked one -- seems to them a little off.

Potter held two meetings today -- one in Buckman (which I got to), and another in North Portland, to discuss the matter with our African-American community since it's likely that the refugees (a word that for some bizarre reason all of a sudden we're not supposed to use, I gues because people are afraid to admit we have Americans who are reufgees in their own country) will be predominently African-American.

It is truly odd to see lights on at WaMo, as RC volunteers continue to prepare the facility.

A "refugee" is "one who flees from danger." That's who they are for the moment. What's so bad about that term -- other than it tells the truth about what happened to them and their city?

I'm with you, b!X. Can anyone handle the truth any more?

Because of events in the last 50 years or so, "refugee" has evolved to mean someone who has fled not just danger, but a country.

"Evacuee" has become the word of choice in the last 24 hours or so, and I think it's more accurate.

I'd like to volunteer to take a couple of them down to Tangent where a certain blogger can explain why it took four days for food and medicine to arrive while their city was ransacked and burned on live TV. Maybe he can make them feel better about their situation.

"Evacuee" has become the word of choice in the last 24 hours or so, and I think it's more accurate.

Bah. You know, they are evacuees while they are being evacuated. After that, they are refugees.

Why do we have to molest the English language just because we're afraid of the wrenching of having to live thorugh history?

The victims of this combined natural and human disaster, forced 2500 miles from their homes, will be identified as "refugees" on this blog until one of them -- not Karl Rove or the Red Cross or the Portland city government -- asks for a different term.

The constant doublespeak is a large part of this country's problems. "Operation Iraqi Freedom," my a*s.

What really angers me is the people who have said "they should have left town when they could". I was born and raised in TN and let me tell you, there are more pockets of deep down poverty throughout the South than I have ever seen anywhere else in the USA. I don't think some people actually understand what it's like to be dirt poor. To have NO money. None. It's almost impossible to escape a situation like the flooding when you have no money and no car.

Just ask yourself: "What would I do if, within a matter of days if not hours, I lost everything"? Everything. House (or apartment), clothes, job, pets, relatives, possessions. I can't even comprehend it myself.

So true, Lily. Even if they had the means to get out, if you leave your house unguarded for an extended period in that town when it's half-deserted, you are guaranteed to come home to nothing. These folks were just taking a risk, trying to hold onto what little they had. And given that the weather folks cry wolf every time there's a tropical storm in the gulf, it is really not hard to understand why many people stayed.

If the scientists said "A major subduction-zone earthquake and eruption of Mount Hood are imminent, and Portland buildings and the Portland water supply could be in danger" every couple of years, and they've never been right, and you were burgled the other times after you evacuated, would you leave again the fifth or sixth or tenth time the warning went off?

Perhaps "evacuee" is too obvious, but rather than address my point about "refugee" developing more than one meaning, I got anger and totally unfounded accusations of political correctness and double-speak. That's disappointing.

I'm not PC, just an English teacher trying to find an accurate word without the border-crossing implication "refugee" has developed. Suggestions are welcome--anger and ridicule, not so welcome.

TRP -- the "doublespeak" remark wasn't about you! It was about the folks running our country. "Evacuee" lets them off the hook much too easily.

Your contributions here are always welcome. I'm glad you gave me another word to use, because quite honestly, I wouldn't have thought of anything else to call them -- "refugee" is so apt.

Please don't take offense. None was intended.

Appreciate that, Jack. In the future, I'll try not to post after my bedtime. I get cranky.

Jack, I'm really not keeping up with much of anything these days, so if this has already appeared here, well, smack me. But I thought you might find John Edwards' thoughts interesting.

(I'm also forgetting to re-read the new comments policy, it occurs to me.)

Me, too, TRP. But think of it this way. If they went 70 miles from Cuba to Key West, you'd call them "refugees," but if they go 2500 miles from NOLA to Portland, they're "evacuees"? Seems hypertechnical, even coming from a basketball ref.

B!X, interesting words from Johnny Edwards. I love that guy, but I can't get any traction under him. Even people who know that Gore and Kerry and Hillary aren't the answer for us Dems can't go for the guy.

I think they're all holding out for Obama. Which is good plan, for the 2016 election...

P.S. Once you're in a thread, the policy says you're good to go on forever in that thread so long as you let others get a word in edgewise and you keep each post reasonably short.

American Heritage Dictionary:

refugee--A person who flees usually to another country for refuge, esp. from invasion, oppression, or persecution.

We don't have the "usually to another country" part. We certainly don't have "invasion." And while one can (and I would) make an argument that most of the victims were oppressed and persecuted, it wasn't Katrina doing that.

What are the first images I think of when I hear the word "refugee"? Cambodians fleeing Pol Pot. Rwandans fleeing genocide. All fleeing across borders.

Therefore, going from Cuba to Key West meets the definition. Going from N.O. to PDX does not. It's not hypertechnical--it's a central part of the definition. So I'm provisionally on "evacuee" or "the displaced," although b!X's point about evacuee's inadequacy is well taken. Got anything better?

If we're going to be hypertechnical, then this is going to turn into a useless war of dictionaries:

"One who flees to a shelter, or place of safety." (1913 Webster)

"an exile who flees for safety" (WordNet)

And amongst some thesaurus words for "refugee" we find "displaced person" as well as (hey look) "evacuee."

Why not expand Dignity Village and get Sten on the case -- ?

I was at the Buckman meeting as well and while I see nothing wrong with the word refugee, the Mayor used "displaced Americans." I like that because it emphasizes these are our fellow citizens. I was also impressed with Mayor Potter's grasp of the seriousness of this, and the challenges and risks involved. No, we don't know who's being sent here --are they voluntary travelers or not?-- and whether these are folks who may intend to stay. Fast integration seems important...cots in the gym represents no long-term solution. One line that got hearty applause: let's handle this better than the feds have.

In fairness to FEMA director Brown, I'd like to point out that not one--not one!--Arabian horse has been lost to the insidious Hurricane Katrina. So he obviously knows what he is doing.

I'd also like to point out that the guy who took over for Brown as general counsel of FEMA when Brown became director, got his start in politics as Jeb Bush's driver in 1994. Oy.

I'm watching a live feed from WWL TV in New Orleans press conference of Asst. Supt. of Police Warren Riley, who was introduced by his NOPD spokesman. Chief Riley is doing a fabulous job. A Giuliani-type job. Informed, frank, open, gives facts, says when he doesn't know, is authoritative, yet comforting in his calm confidence that order has been restored in the city.

Compared to that whiny New Orleans mayor a couple of days ago, Chief Riley is a credit to New Orleans, to Louisiana, and to police officers everywhere. It restores my confidence in the police and in (most) government officials.

BTW, WWL TV anchors and reporters are doing a great job, too. Again, they are giving facts and staying upbeat, while reporting many negative news items. Restores my confidence in LOCAL news reporters, as opposed to the MSM, which still is looking for disaster, tragedy and 'horror' as Yahoo! so colorfully put it.

B!X,

If the "war of dictionaries" is "useless", than why are you engaging in it? In any event, your use of a 1913 dictionary only proves that the connotation of the word has changed in recent years, just as I said. Using an obsolete dictionary runs the risk of using an obsolete word.

Words are important, particularly when used to describe people. Just because words are listed next to each other in the thesaurus doesn't mean that the shadings and nuances between them aren't important, particularly when we're describing people. The whole point of using a thesaurus is to find just the right word for a situation, not to say "see, these are all the same, use whatever word you want." So avoiding "refugee" isn't a matter of semantics. It's a move to emphasize that the victims are our fellow countrymen. That's all.

My question stands. You've shown me the problems with "evacuee." Now, convince me that "refugee," in spite of its inaccurate connotations, is a better word than the more accurate "displaced." I'm listening.

Changing the subject ever so slightly - does PPS still own the WaMo building?

Since we’ve transitioned to critiquing this thing, it’s obvious that President Bush only put it in gear on hurricane response after a public outcry. He had no clue about the magnitude until days afterwards, and his inept team of losers, including the clown who ran the Arabian horses association, didn’t either. Another transition has occurred: We’re now seeing a frantic attempt to rebuild, but not New Orleans, and not even Trent Lott’s beach house. No, the frenzied efforts here are to rebuild President Bush’s image. If it was wrong to point the fingers of blame that got this President going; if that meant those criticizing had no souls as you suggested, how much soul does this p.r. effort have? President Bush congratulated the Arabian horse’s ass guy for the fine job he was doing. That means anyone who still believes this is a good President is now officially a moron.

As with Keiko the problem will come when it is time to set them free. Will the fish bowl folks want to keep their prize? Will the health care providers claim that they are not ready for the wild . . .

My sister's step-daughter gets to direct helicopters to pluck the half crazed folks from continuing danger.

They aren't Orca's and will likely face a challenge that more closely resembles that of the Irish fleeing the potato famine.

We need to look at a word that must be applied immediately; acculturation. Delaying integration would only be appropriate if we could compel their return as we can foreign refugees. The high school (or jail) must NOT be used as a jail called "Ellis Island." They are here to stay. How many Irish returned?

Sufferers, exiles, displaceds, yes, homeless, those hurt, outcasts, the ill-fated souls, dislocateds, disheveleds, plighteds, those marginalized, the hurt, tired, wretched, huddled masses ...
To the poet Emma Lazarus, who saw refugees from persecution arriving on a tramp steamer, following incredible sufferings, the statue was "The New Colossus" or the "Mother of Exiles." She wrote of it in 1883:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. " Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

In its international aspect the statue, which was a gift ....
-- snip --

Or, my usual favorite: victim, because it is fewer keystrokes than refugee or evacuee.

And it conveys a truer situational sense in uses such as: 'the victims of Team Bush,' or 'victims of Republican racist policy.'

I alsu use 'temporarily displaced,' to key in mind that the flood victims mean to return and re-establish. New Orleans-lover Harry Shearer, in his Le Show, (Corvallis 550 AM, 8:00 pm Sunday; also HarryShearer dot com), buttressed the love in repeating the phrase "bring it back." Because the propaganda the Republicans are moving intends to poison minds to give up, quit, and abandon 'those' people, -- Hastert: "bulldoze the place." The rich hoard for themselves more money by everyone else's dying than by everyone else's surviving, by 'selfish,' not by 'sharing.'

Jack, I did read a dispatch from among those suffering, quoting an express wish not to be termed "refugees," (but, sorry, I'll not look it up just now).

This morning's radio dose aired a sound bite to chew on, like 'the flood relief action of Americans would have been different if the people were a different race.' I think that's not true. What's true sounding to me is the emergency aid would have been different if this racist Republican Evil Office administration was different. Ignoring the response while focusing on the stimulus is 'blaming the victims,' IMO.

Americans didn't abandon New Orleansians; the Fright House cleaved us apart and/to set us against each other.

The President of Jefferson Parish Aaron Broussard told Meet the Press today that FEMA cut his parish's emergency communications lines and he had to have his sheriff restore the severed lines and post armed deputies to ensure that FEMA did not try to cut the communications lines again. Broussard's statement: "Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice...."

F.Y.I. The Fright House tactics of isolation and class-baiting, for their strategy of dividing us apart to fight each other, and disrupting our common cause together to fight false leaders, shows their murderous hand in other reports from Wayne Madsen's website, ibid. Briefly:

September 4, 2005 -- Reports continue that communications in and around New Orleans are being purposely jammed (and severed) by the US government (see Sep. 2 article below). ... Jamming radio and other communications such as television signals is part of a Pentagon tactic called "information blockade" or "technology blockade." The tactic is one of a number of such operations that are part of the doctrine of "information warfare" and is one of the psychological operations (PSYOPS) methods ....

The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed. - Steven Biko.

ALERT: WMR readers should be aware that web sites like Democratic Underground are "locking" information on the radio jamming in Louisiana and the corruption involved in FEMA hurricane disaster preparedness (IEM Team contract). Readers should also be aware that the Pentagon's technology blockade strategy extends to the Internet. Web sites like Democratic Underground and Daily Kos have a lot of explaining to do when they censor critical information during a national emergency. These web sites, along with Fox News and the other news sources with overt and covert political agendas, are not serving in the public interest and should be avoided as sources for important information. For example, some Daily Kos posters are questioning whether FEMA deliberately cut Jefferson Parish's emergency telephone lines. That is because many of those involved with Daily Kos and Democratic Underground are squishy Democrats with a pretty obvious agenda. - WM

Jack, thanks for the reporting "that the weather folks cry wolf every time" -- I don't watch. I don't have to because others relay it to everyone. And I try to reciprocate by relaying in exchange the news I find, and eyewitness words from my personal contacts, and my individual thoughts. "...don't need no terrifying weatherman to know which way the wind blows."

In one insight it looks to me like Bush fascists believed their own propaganda to have defunded FEMA to inconsequence so small that they could drown it in New Orleans' flooded bowl.

Or, given the unique culture associated with New Orleans, perhaps "diaspora" (the dispersion or spreading of something that was originally localized (as a people or language or culture)) might end up fitting the bill.

Please note that there is a 150-word limit on posts here (and 50 words on followup posts). I am going to enforce that rule if this warning is not heeded.

The problem with the term "evacuee" is that its "shadings and nuances" :-) imply a more short-term situation than "refugee" does.

"Displaced citizen" while a bit clunky, does reflect the fact that many of these folks will not be returning to the ol' homestead, anytime soon, if ever.

"Diaspora" -- well, that's interesting. I'm hoping for at least two new great Cajun restaurants in this great food-loving city of ours.

My dictionary (Webster 9th New Collegiate, 1988) says a refugee is "one that flees, esp.: one who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution."

So by that dictionary, it's perfectly correct to call the New Orleans "displaced" people "refugees," as (1) the foreign country connotation gets an "esp." listing, but it isn't in the core definition; (2) even if it were, Portland and New Orleans and so different that at least figuratively, they're different countries; and (3) common usage trumps dictionaries, and if you Google "Katrina refugee" you'll see I'm far from alone.

Again, when the folks from N.O. tell me to use "evacuee," I will. But the mayor of Portland's not the arbiter of the English language on this one.

I wanted to post this response last night, but my server deserted us right in the middle of the conversation.

Going straight to the definitive source, using the more recent OED (courtesy of the library):

One who, owing to religious persecution or political troubles, seeks refuge in a foreign country; orig. applied to the French Huguenots who came to England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

Don't read me no limey dictionary. This here's America.

Jack,

I disagree, and I predict that "refugee" falls out of common usage (except in your posts) within a week or two. There's a backlash afoot due to the international connotation.

PPS does still own the WaMo building. Red Cross has contracted with PPS for use of the building and is lead agency for shelter and food for the folks coming from disaster area.

(a) What has the WaMo building been used for lately, if anything?
(b) Why did PPS still own the building?
(c) What are the terms of the contract?

"Mac"-

The Mayor of New Orleans is "whiney"??!! Excuse me, but I COMPLETELY disagree. I see a man who truly loves his city and understands it's citizens, and was helpless to keep them safe and fed without Federal intervention and assistance. He was reduced to crying and begging for help. Good God, have you NO ability to empathize?

I think Nagin is a hero and you can bet your ass (can I say that Jack?) anyone would have been crying and yelling in the same circumstances. It's easy to call Chief Riley calm & collected etc now that most of the danger has passed.

Scores of Chief Riley's officers weren't so calm. They disappeared.

I dropped by the WaMo earlier this evening to see what help was needed. As far as donations go - the Salvation Army is collecting donations for the people who should be arriving mid-week. They need toiletry items, clothing (especially sizes that are difficult to shop for, warmer layering items to help with adjusting to our colder climate, and white socks), batteries. Donations can be delivered to the SE 17th and Sandy Salvation Army. Also, they will continue to need volunteers at the WaMo location to prepare for arrival and to keep the operation going. They will require a short application to expedite the process of becoming a Red Cross volunteer. The people we met there today were very nice and welcoming and ready to put us to work... I'll be going back in the evenings after work to see what I can offer.

Er, why's is the campus currently being called "Washington-Monroe" (WaMo)?

I remember it only as Washington High School -- and that Monroe High School was over on NE Everett street (I attended it briefly in the late 70s when it was called "Monroe Middle School" & I believe it's now the home of Da Vinci Arts Middle School).

Maybe I'm remembering this incorrectly?

Perhaps they closed Monroe first and moved those students over? Sounds like a classic bureaucratic word game, but really, I'm just guessing.

A group of us are heading over to WaMo at 6 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, from the Doug Fir Lounge. We're bringing donations and plan to podcast and videoblog what's unfolding. Many of the people assembling at the Doug Fir will be here for an event on Wednesday and Thursday called the Podcast Hotel Presents Podcast Jams. We're teaching indie media and musicians how to podcast and videoblog. This is not broadcast news but do-it-yourself blogging with audio and video.

Anyone is welcome to meet us at the Doug Fir tomorrow night. Please bring a donation and audio/video gear if you have it.

re WaMo

I don't recall when the Washington-Monroe merger took place exactly, but it must've been late 70s as well b/c Monroe was out of the picture as a PIL school and WaMo was slated to be the neighborhood high school for my sister and I when we first moved here (1978). All the older kids in the neighborhood went there but, by the time I moved up from Fernwood Middle, WaMo had closed a few years previously and the Everett St. Monroe building had long ceased to be a high school.