Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Reminiscences of Margaret McHugh : oral history, 2002.
| Creator: | McHugh, Margaret | Project: | September 11, 2001 response and recovery oral history project.
(see all project interviews) | Phys. Desc. : | transcript 36 pages sound recordings 1 audio disc (69 min.) : digital ; 3 in. | | Location: | Columbia Center for Oral History | | Full CLIO record >> |
Biographical NoteSenior Policy and Program Advisor, New York Immigration Coalition.
Scope and ContentsGrew up in Yonkers; education: Harvard; career: work with Edward Koch administration, outreach to immigrant communities, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition; Coalition: history of, work with immigrants and refugees, immigration law and amnesty program, tension between groups, lack of concerted efforts, focus on police and community relations, quality of schools, access to affordable health care, focus on voter education, partnerships with ESL [English as a Second Language] and networking with other groups working on--after-school programs, maternal and child health programs, legal servies and post-welfare reform; September 11th: people walking north, standing in the street, towers burning, paper falling; collapse of towers: feelings of disbelief, mind racing over possible death toll, memories of numbness and shock; post-9/11 focus of Coalition: general backlash on immigration policy, work with Arab American Family Support Center, hate crime reports, work with Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, immigration status issues surrounding hijackers, Schools Chancellor Harold G. Levy, failure of clean-up operations, challenges to accessing September 11th Fund, lack of multi-lingual service staff, challenges to accessing benefits of disaster relief, on-site advocacy, battles with government agencies, comments on unique event in disaster history for FEMA [used to dealing with natural disasters], criticism of FEMA, problem of evictions, challenges to undocumented workers, impact in Chinatown, job loss, work with--Arab, South Asian, and Muslim groups, restriction/limitations of government vis-à-vis the needs of immigrants, struggle to legitimize economic victims and rights of workers, problems with job training programs, creating relevant mental health services for immigrants vis-à-vis disasters.
SubjectsAccess ConditionsCopyright by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2006. Permission required to cite, quote, and reproduce. Contact repository for information.
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