I started collecting links for these stories a couple days ago (as you can see from my diary), but now the story is really beginning to pick up, so I pretty much have to slow down on this.

Refugees, Riots, and Evacuees: Who Decides? (Poynter Online, 9-7-05)
The same Bush administration that takes umbrage at the word "refugee" tells us often that ( Read more... )

Courtesty of Arnold Zwicky, here's the lyrics to a song by Woody Guthrie:
Dust Bowl Refugee(Woody Guthrie ( Read more... )

Arnold Zwicky pointed out there's been some discussions of the term "refugee" on the American Dialect Society mailing list.

I think this one is the best-balanced and researched one I've seen so far. I cite the exceptional bits:

Victims of what? A look at terms (St. Petersbug Times, 9-6-05)
At the advocacy group Human Rights Watch, officials agreed the term "refugee" wouldn't apply to hurricane victims under international law, because they are not fleeing persecution ( Read more... )

IN OTHER WORDS: When did they become refugees instead of evacuees? (The Times and Democrat, South Carolina)
Although I'm watching the events of Hurricane Katrina from Iowa, it's so easy to forget that I am in the "sweet land of liberty." How did the people go from evacuees to refugees? The latter word is often reserved for people in distant lands. ( Read more... )

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2005/09/new_orleanss_hu.html

Synopsis: a news item from July 24, 2005, that starts:
In storm, N.O. wants no one left behind; Number of people without cars makes evacuation difficult By Bruce Nolan, Staff writer, New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 24, 2005 ( Read more... )

Acender as velas (Light the candles ( Read more... )

Annex I: Hurricanes

Here's a choice bit (my emphasis):
V. TASKS

[...]

D. Regional Transit Authority

• Supply transportation as needed in accordance with the current Standard Operating Procedures.
  
• Place special vehicles on alert to be utilized if needed.
  
• Position supervisors and dispatch evacuation buses.
  
• If warranted by scope of evacuation, ( Read more... )

There's been a few more since I last wrote about it:

'Refugees' in their land (Boston Globe)
New race row rattles relief drive for hurricane victims

I'm starting to get a more nuanced understanding of the objection. The argument goes, more or less:

1. In the USA, "refugee" is a word that is commonly used to describe displaced people in third-world ( Read more... )

Hurricane Planning and Impact Assessment Reports, over at the site for the NOAA Coastal Services Center.