Evacuees, Refugees, or Victims?

I received an email this morning suggesting that I change my wording from "refugee" to "evacuee":

"The victims of Katrina are not refugees rather they are US citizens displaced by a natural disaster. A refugee is defined as: One who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution. This is not the case in Katrina victims."

That definition needs to be attributed to Dictionary.com, as it is a direct copy of their definition. Other dictionaries just call a refugee, "one who seeks shelter," or "one who flees." Usually the term is applied to wars and politics and religious persecution, but our world has not seen many cases such as we have in New Orleans.

Reverend Al Sharpton agrees with my reader that the the term "refugee" is not right, assuming that the term strips the people of their dignity. "They are not refugees. They are citizens of the United States," he says. You can read an interesting article about this discussion here, on the NPR site.

From a personal point of view, and as a refugee, evacuee, or hurricane victim, I can tell you that we just don't care. We're simply Southerners who were caught in a storm. We simply want help, whatever you prefer to call us.

(p.s. Even though I think "refugee" has been accurate in this case, I will soon change my wording at the top of this blog, just because I think the people who are homeless will soon no longer be "refugees," needing to seek "refuge." Even though they won't have homes to go back to yet, the rebuilding will begin and "refugee" will no longer seem fitting.)