Reportage
Victims of Hurricane Helene are suspicious of federal aid, convinced by Trump conspiracies
We spoke with Bill Clinton on the campaign trail. ‘There has just been a devastating hurricane and there are whole swaths of the population who are refusing government aid because they’re afraid of the federal government and its representatives.’
The political makeup of North Carolina, a state that could end up playing a crucial role in the November elections, currently alternates between Democratic and Republican areas, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in a constant head-to-head. This is obvious from the (few) election signs one can see in front of houses, which tend to be clustered together: two or three for Trump, one after the other, then, further on, two or three for Harris. In the southwestern part of the state, however, what is immediately striking is the wreckage that Hurricane Helene left behind.
The situation has been made even more difficult by Trump's statements amplifying fake news that had spread on Facebook, urging the people of North Carolina to avoid seeking aid from the U.S. civil defense agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), because “they will seize your land if you don’t repay the loans.” This is yet another in a long series of false claims Trump has spread since the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene, including that Washington is intentionally withholding aid from Republicans in need, or that there is a lack of funds because they have been spent on migrants, even though those are two entirely different funding channels.
These lies have caused real problems: some North Carolina residents have confronted and threatened FEMA workers, who have stopped going door-to-door to offer assistance as a result, and some citizens are unwilling to go to FEMA branches to apply for the assistance they need as they fear losing their property.
This perfect storm has worsened the problems in the most heavily damaged – and most Republican – areas, who are more willing to accept help when it comes from private individuals. Two of them are Kim and Nicole, a mother and daughter from Texas who have camped out in a semi-destroyed gas station and set up a distribution point for basic necessities; they also believe the government is not showing up and not giving enough aid. They have been sleeping in a tent for ten days and have not left the gas station area since they arrived.
Their intentions are praiseworthy, like those of many other individuals who have come to bring aid – but one can certainly be skeptical about their claims that the government is “doing nothing,” which are fueling the false narrative making the situation worse.
Aid is gladly accepted in more Democratic areas, such as Asheville, a very liberal town heavily impacted by Helene; but there are still distinctions to be made. “The right-wing militias have also come in,” says Marlene, who is doing volunteer work to rebuild a self-managed arts and cultural center that was the heart of Asheville's artist community. “Not here, because we would drive them out, but you can see them in Republican areas. As for myself, I went and voted early as soon as possible,” she concludes, pointing to her pro-Harris T-shirt.
“It doesn’t make sense at all,” adds Janette Montenegro Tayler, a Florida Cuban transplanted to Asheville. “I see people with ‘No to Harris and Socialism‘ bumper stickers lining up to receive FEMA aid, and I want to tell them, ‘Look, this is socialism, it’s when the state helps you.’ This aid is needed, as well as the incredible help the community is offering.”
Because the two candidates are neck-and-neck in the polls, not a day goes by in North Carolina without a rally in these final weeks before the vote, and the Democratic Party is throwing all its heavy artillery into the fight. Bill Clinton has come to the state, grinding out rallies at the rate of two or three a day, to give the Democrats an extra boost in the early voting that has just started. He’s talking to people, shaking hands, giving out hugs, taking selfies, listening to the people approaching him, unleashing his charisma and communication skills which were hardly on display in his speech at the Democratic convention in August. He’s doing a classic campaign bus tour, covering every local stop, and he often already gets applause when his large blue bus with “Harris Walz” on its side appears on the horizon.
“I'm almost the same age as Trump,” says the 78-year-old Clinton at one of the rallies. ”I'm not running for anything anymore, except for the future of my grandchildren, and I know what's best for their future: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.” He turns to the Obamacare healthcare program and recalls that during the Trump administration, the GOP-led Congress would have repealed it if not for the late Republican Senator John McCain who stopped them in their tracks – “and don't think they won't do it if you give them the White House again,” he added.
We ask him what is the most difficult voter group to convince to come to the polls. “Paradoxically, it's those who would need it the most,” Clinton says. “It's that part of the electorate that feels marginalized and thinks that their vote won't make a difference, that they won't get anything by voting, or even worse, that they need to stay away from the government; those who are afraid of the government. You see what’s happening now, right here in North Carolina. There has just been a devastating hurricane and there are whole swaths of the population who are refusing government aid because they’re afraid of the federal government and its representatives. That’s what the situation is right now. This is the constituency we need to address right now, and this distrust is the problem we need to heal.”
There is a tangible air of suspicion in Republican areas. Some volunteers advise us to be cautious and not approach those who live by themselves in the mountains, because they might be dangerous.
Sarah and her husband are from South Carolina, and they go into those areas as well, with due caution, “because we’re from here and they eventually accept us.” They bring medicine, vitamins and first aid supplies. The couple met when they served in Iraq: she was an ICU nurse and he was a paramedic.
“Many are really terrified at the prospect of losing their land,” her husband tells us. ”It's hard to help them, even for us.” He points to the riverbank, where houses have been entirely washed away. “One man refused to go with FEMA as they were trying to evacuate the area. He was washed away together with his house. His body is going to be somewhere down the river.”
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/vittime-delluragano-e-del-sospetto-i-sopravvissuti-di-helene on 2024-10-23