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03/02/2006:

"Refugees Check Out of FEMA Hotels, Protest"

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - Donna Francis pressed a pile of FEMA paperwork and phone numbers to her chest as the minutes slipped away in the lobby of the Best Value Inn.

``Hopefully I can go pull a rabbit out of my hat,'' said Francis, a victim of Hurricane Rita, as she waited to make a plea to her Federal Emergency Management Agency caseworker an hour before six months of government-paid hotel rooms ended.

The single mother was among hurricane refugees in nearly 3,000 hotel rooms nationwide Wednesday who were confronted with a choice they had long dreaded: either remain in their hotel and pay the bill with their own money or other federal assistance, or check out and find a new place to live.

Wednesday's deadline sparked protests in at least one city.
guardian.co.uk