Catholic Charities In the News
Could language barrier impede evacuation process?
May 27, 2009 - WDSU.com
Officials in Louisiana said they're worried that a language barrier could keep hundreds from evacuating during a serious storm.
Evacuating to shelters has proved difficult in the past because there are few Spanish-to-English translators to tell people what to do, where to go and what is happening. As a result, it may cause people not to leave during a disaster.
"Imagine how much more stressful it is, that situation, when there aren't people who speak the language," said Martin Gutierrez, of the Catholic Charities Hispanic Apostolate.
The Hispanic population has grown since Hurricane Katrina. Leaders said that Spanish-speaking people need to be taken into account when it comes to disasters, specifically evacuating during a hurricane.
"It's a problem when you're not able to communicate," said New Orleans resident Jamie Perez.
Many people have said that the language barrier is a problem, and it was brought up during a special disaster meeting Tuesday night.
Some at the meeting asked whether there would be translators on hand and will they be able to handle life or death emergencies.
The Department of Social Services and New Orleans emergency leaders said there are currently systems in place, but they said they may not have enough. Members of Catholic Charities Hispanic Apostolate said there are problems, too.
"We still have work to do," Gutierrez said. "We learned lessons and much better prepared this year and last year better than previous year."
Another concern for a lot of Hispanics is immigration and not being able to get back into the city after evacuating. That's something local leaders said is not and should not be a problem.
Catholic Charities said that, during a storm, it works to reach people who speak Spanish by handing out fliers and making emergency announcements on Spanish radio stations.
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