| Page 4 of 4 < |
Katrina's Vietnamese Victims
Vicky Nelson plays in a classroom-turned-living-quarters at the temple, where she is staying with her family.
(By Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Other more complex issues also have surfaced. For many Vietnamese fishermen, ownership of their boats is complicated. Some have tangled agreements -- sometimes written, sometimes not -- with others that make for messy insurance claims. Many had no flood insurance on their homes, or lost their insurance documents in the storm.
To reach the extensive Vietnamese communities in the New Orleans area, Boat People is distributing fliers and spreading the word through Buddhist temples and Vietnamese Catholic Churches. It also is relying on word of mouth.
Working off a laptop on a folding table in the temple's cluttered fellowship hall, case managers Thomas and Phu Nguyen work with a steady stream of Katrina victims. They help some fill out paperwork to get free cell phones offered to Katrina evacuees through a Federal Communications Commission program. To others, they hand out fliers in Vietnamese that explain FEMA benefits and Boat People's program.
Many, said Thomas, don't realize that they might be eligible for loans and grants from the government to help them rebuild their boats and homes. But she is confident that more will turn to Boat People for help as they hear about its services. "Word travels pretty fast here," she said.
As soon as Boat People showed up last month, Loan and Ky Le turned to the group for help.
Boat People case workers say that the Le family has flood insurance for their mobile home and, fortunately, Loan was able to unearth from the rubble a letter certifying her claim. Even so, their claim was rejected, and Thomas is working with them to figure out why, launch an appeal and help them through the paperwork.
"She help me a lot," Loan said.
Despite the devastating losses, she said, the couple isn't discouraged.
As an example, Loan pointed to her husband, who squatted by the trailer, cigarette in hand. "He falls down, he stand up and he walk again. He keep working," she said. "He keep working."
