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A
public letter from President Barack Obama to our
editor Jacques Dady Jean, the leader of
Organizing America in Massachusetts.
Jacques
Dady Jean
Jeune
Haiti Magazine
24
Regis Rd
Mattapan
MA
Dear
Jacques
Yesterday, I visited Caminada Bay in Grand Isle,
Louisiana -- one of the first places to feel the
devastation wrought by the oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico. While I was here, at Camerdelle's
Live Bait shop, I met with a group of local
residents and small business owners.
Folks like Floyd Lasseigne, a fourth-generation
oyster fisherman. This is the time of year when
he ordinarily earns a lot of his income. But his
oyster bed has likely been destroyed by the
spill.
Terry Vegas had a similar story. He quit the 8th
grade to become a shrimper with his grandfather.
Ever since, he's earned his living during
shrimping season -- working long, grueling days
so that he could earn enough money to support
himself year-round. But today, the waters where
he has worked are closed. And every day, as the
spill worsens, he loses hope that he will be
able to return to the life he built.
Here, this spill has not just damaged
livelihoods. It has upended whole communities.
And the fury people feel is not just about the
money they have lost. It is about the wrenching
recognition that this time their lives may never
be the same.
These people work hard. They meet their
responsibilities. But now because of a manmade
catastrophe -- one that is not their fault and
beyond their control -- their lives have been
thrown into turmoil. It is brutally unfair. And
what I told these men and women is that I will
stand with the people of the Gulf Coast until
they are again made whole.
That is why, from the beginning, we have worked
to deploy every tool at our disposal to respond
to this crisis. Today, there are more than
20,000 people working around the clock to
contain and clean up this spill. I have
authorized 17,500 National Guard troops to
participate in the response. More than 1,900
vessels are aiding in the containment and
cleanup effort. We have convened hundreds of top
scientists and engineers from around the world.
This is the largest response to an environmental
disaster of this kind in the history of our
country.
We have also ordered BP to pay economic injury
claims, and this week, the federal government
sent BP a preliminary bill for $69 million to
pay back American taxpayers for some of the
costs of the response so far. In addition, after
an emergency safety review, we are putting in
place aggressive new operating standards for
offshore drilling. And I have appointed a
bipartisan commission to look into the causes of
this spill. If laws are inadequate, they will be
changed. If oversight was lacking, it will be
strengthened. And if laws were broken, those
responsible will be brought to justice.
These are hard times in Louisiana and across the
Gulf Coast, an area that has already seen more
than its fair share of troubles. The people of
this region have met this terrible catastrophe
with seemingly boundless strength and character
in defense of their way of life. What we owe
them is a commitment by our nation to match the
resilience they have shown. That is our mission.
And it is one we will fulfill.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
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