Asian Week

Irwin Tang and Carla Williams-Namboodiri contributed to this article, Sep 09, 2005


Vietnamese Americans Hard-Hit


Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath may have killed dozens or more Vietnamese Americans living along the Gulf Coast. Asian Pacific Americans belonging 
to other ethnic groups have also been affected, but the Vietnamese Americans of the region suffered the majority of the casualties among Asians.

Vietnamese American media and organizations reports indicate that perhaps more than 70 Vietnamese Americans around Empire and Buras, Mississippi, may 
have been killed.

A Catholic church filled with Vietnamese was rescued through the lobbying efforts of other Vietnamese. Trang Nguyen of Arlington, Texas, contacted by 
cell phone soon after the hurricane left 300 Vietnamese stranded in the New Orleans neighborhood of Versailles, among them a friend of her mother’s. She 
immediately began calling emergency agencies and media outlets to publicize the plight of the Vietnamese, who at one point were neck-high in sewage water. 
After days, the Vietnamese were taken to higher ground.

Tens of thousands of Vietnamese Americans living in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama affected by Hurricane Katrina are highly concentrated along the 
coastline because they work in the shrimping, fishing and shipbuilding industries. Vietnamese Americans make up over 40% of all APAs in Louisiana.

Texas APAs Respond 

Asian Americans in Texas have responded to the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe by donating money, time and housing. The organization known as Vietnamese 
Community of Houston and Vicinity has taken the lead in efforts to house the victims, due in part to the leadership of State Representative Hubert Vo.

The Vietnamese-owned Hong Kong Mall has played a crucial role in relief efforts, providing a one-stop clearinghouse and health center. A Vietnamese 
American organization called Boat People S.O.S. is seeing people for various health issues, with their booth in the mall getting overwhelmed by the needs 
of the victims.

Other Asian Americans in Texas have offered their homes for victims to live in. In a mass e-mail this week to constituents, Councilmember Gordon Quan 
reported that in Houston, “the Filipino community has settled over 50 evacuees with local families” and that “the Pakistani community has settled 600 
people into 200 apartments.”

City Councilmember Jennifer Kim stated that one of the main problems being faced is the English-only paper forms and computer screens. Many Vietnamese 
victims are unable to communicate clearly or fill out the proper paperwork without assistance.

Bobby Jindal Is among thousands of Homeless

Indian American Congressman Bobby Jindal was among thousands of residents in New Orleans, Louisiana, who were left without food or electricity after
Hurricane Katrina pounded the U.S. Gulf coast. “The events of the last 48 hours have hit us harshly, and the effects of Hurricane Katrina are still not
fully known,” Jindal said on his website. “I know most of you, like my family and I, have spent a restless night, evacuated from your homes and still 
without power. We are all worried about what we will find when we are finally given the all clear to return,” he said.

Jindal’s legislative victories on natural disaster compensation in Congress this year are critical for Louisianans as they fight yet another major calamity. Soon after he came into Congress this year, he began to lobby and successfully got passed legislation reversing an earlier ruling that would have taxed compensation to his state’s residents for monies they got as a result of natural disasters. That law takes on added meaning for Louisianans now as they battle with massive devastation from Hurricane Katrina.

— Irwin Tang and Carla Williams-Namboodiri contributed to this article