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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Evelyne Shuster, PhD, Veterans Affairs Medical Center/University of Pennsylvania, Ethics, University and Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-823-4206, evelyn.shuster@med.va.gov

After hurricane “Katrina” flooded New Orleans, washing away the veneer of the “American Dream,” and exposing raw human rights violation and environmental deprivation, Europeans hurried to quietly congratulate themselves on having avoided similar problems in their own countries. Economic disparities, inequalities and isolation, of such magnitude could not have happened in Europe, and particularly in France which prides itself in making decent habitat for all its citizens, claiming no distinction among population categories - everyone is treated equally, with equal rights and dignity and in solidarity. The nation's confidence in its public and environmental policy went up in flame when minorities in Paris suburbs (and across France) burned more than 10.000 vehicles, attacked 300 schools, 233 public buildings and 51 post offices, stoned 140 public transportation vehicles. The riots resulted in more than 5000 people arrested and half a dozen people dead. Job situation (more that 50% unemployed) and environmental conditions in France suburbs that contain most minorities, were blamed for people's anger. And just like disparities and discrimination were revealed by the Katrina tragedy in New Orleans, so too, in France, Paris Riots exposed the human rights disparities and the huge difficulties most societies have in dealing with social and environmental injustice. In this presentation, I briefly address what happened and why, explore the various social models that have been applied to ethnic minorities, and conclude by suggesting the lessons that can be learned from both the Katrina debacle and Paris riots.

Learning Objectives: