- The Marshall Islands were the site of numerous U.S. nuclear tests in the 1950s that displaced communities and altered their way of life.
- Locals across the islands and atolls are now at risk of evacuation and losing more of their ties to the land if sea-level rise continues at its current rate.
- For many Marshallese elders, their connection to the land is deeply rooted in their mind, body and soul: It is an integral part of their identity and culture.
- Elders talk about their concerns for the future and explain their intimate connection to their land.
BIKINI ATOLL, Marshall Islands — “I felt so many emotions during my trip to Bikini,” said Victoria Jamore. “I asked myself questions like: How many times have we been moved? How many times will we be moved? When will we get to live on our islands again?”
For Jamore, a Marshallese artist, Bikini is more than just an atoll lost in the Pacific. It’s the land of her ancestors where she feels deeply rooted. The sprawling array of remote atolls and islands that make up the Marshall Islands holds an immensely rich biodiversity and coral reefs intricately tied to their culture and identity. The atolls were also once a testing ground for nuclear warfare.
Displaced once because of nuclear testing in the 20th century, some communities are now at risk of evacuation and seeing their lands disappear if sea-level rise continues at its current rate. In one of the world’s lowest-lying island nations, researchers say communities will face threats to livability over the next 70 years with just a 50 -centimeter (20-inch) sea-level rise. Some projections say this will happen by 2090. In the government’s national adaptation plan to address the issue, almost half of people surveyed said they already observed waters rising.
For many Marshallese people, their connection to the land is deeply rooted in their mind, body and soul. For elder Alson Kelen, it’s part of his identity: It is where he comes from and where his knowledge is rooted.
“Land, our clan and culture is our identity; without them we’re nobody,” said Kelen, worrying about possible evacuation. “Traditionally I introduced myself as Alson (me) Rinamu (my clan) Bikini Atoll (where my mother is from), so I would be Alson Rinamu from Bikini Atoll. Of course, today I am just Alson J. Kelen.”
Land is part of family, elders say: It is something that deserves to be treated with respect and be cared for. It’s like an ancestor, explains Greg Dvorak, professor of international cultural studies at Waseda University in Japan.
Jamore went on a 12-day expedition throughout the Marshall Islands before she returned to Bikini, now uninhabitable due to past nuclear experiments. The journey was part of a scientific and artistic project to explore the legacy of colonialism, nuclear testing and climate change that has led to many displacements.
She encountered an array of consequences that locals and elders are facing and how this is impacting their relationship with the land.
“With colonialism, a lot of our culture was altered to reflect on the biblical values and the fate of the missionaries,” says Susan Jeita, an elder. “Now, there are changes in our culture from the effects and impacts of climate change.”
Jeita noticed these problems for many years, she tells Mongabay. She grew up in the atoll of Mejit and is a master weaver. She weaves matts and baskets with coconut and pandanus leaves, which she says are now harder to come by because of droughts and sea sprays stunting the growth of their trees.
“We also have had a surge of inundations across the atolls,” she says, “which makes it difficult to transport supplies to the other islands because the runways are flooded as well.”
Displacement after displacement
The Marshall Islands have experienced a wave of colonial rulers. First, the Spanish, and later, the Germans, until the Japanese took over. Japan then lost the Micronesian atolls to the U.S. in 1944. Between 1946 and 1958, the U.S., which administered the land, conducted 66 nuclear tests on Bikini and Enewetak atolls. These tests, which were so explosive and inspired the name of a swimsuit, led to the displacement of the local population.
About 167 people living on Bikini Atoll were displaced after Navy Commodore Ben Wyatt asked them to relocate for “the good of mankind.” He said they were a chosen people and that perfecting atomic weapons could prevent future wars.
Bikinians arrived soon after on Rongerik Atoll, an uninhabited island with limited natural resources. But they were evacuated yet again in 1978 when radiation levels were determined to be excessive.
“I am from Bikini Atoll, where we were known for worshipping the shark known as Wõdjabto, the goddess of the sea. Traditionally, we used to be some of the bravest navigators the ocean spirit could arm,” recalls Kelen, a canoe-making master.
In the past, their ancestors navigated the hazardous waters around the atolls, developing a piloting technique that allowed them to read the patterns of waves while sailing. Though they migrated around frequently in the past, it was all within their lagoon or ocean, he says. And they maintained a strong connection to their specific islands and region.
As with Bikini, nuclear tests on Enewetak led to the relocation of people in 1947 to Ujelang Atoll. They stayed there until 1980, when the U.S. government decided it was safe for them to go back to their original land.
But after many have returned, another problem now awaits. And it is not just the 76,000 cubic meters (2.7 million cubic feet) of radioactive material stored in a crater (called the “Runit Dome”) that is sparking local worries. While 291 people now live on the Enewetak Atoll, multiple reports raise the alarm of recurrent coastal flooding due to king tides.
“The small spaces they temporarily live on are now often flooded,” Kelen explains. “They were relocated from their islands for the good of mankind; now they’ll be relocated from their country because of the greed of mankind.”
The consequences of nuclear tests and the displacements did not only raise concerns about the classified impacts of radiation on peoples’ health. The tests also impacted the culture of communities, Marshallese elders say. Some traditional knowledge and skills sharing stopped.
“Bikini Atoll, Rongelap Atoll and Enewetak Atoll were known for their canoe-building skills and navigation skills. … Unfortunately, these skills that people survived on for thousands of years are now gone forever in those areas,” Kelen explains. “These people are strangers in their own country because they are not living on their islands.”
Most people from Bikini, Enewetak and Rongelap now depend on gas or diesel engine boats to go out fishing and survive mostly on imported goods. Their connection to their elders and lands are no longer the same as they were traditionally, and evacuations due to sea-level rise may accelerate the trend. Sustainable ways of life are changing, elders worry, and lifestyles are becoming damaging to these small and fragile islands.
Since the U.S. dropped the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb, a bomb about 1,000 times more destructive than the Hiroshima bomb, on Bikini in 1954, no one has returned. Due to radiation levels, scientists say it’s still not safe.
“The Bravo test created the worst radiological disaster in the United States’ testing history. By accident, local civilians on the Marshall Islands, US servicemen stationed on Rongerik atoll, and the Japanese fishing trawler Lucky Dragon, were contaminated with the fallout,” states the U.N. website.
Uprooted
Even among elders, maintaining traditional customs is proving difficult. In the last decade, it was not just sea-level rise that climate experts were concerned about. Among the most significant consequences of climate change were coastline erosion, storm surges and shifting rainfall.
In a survey by the International Organization of Migration, one-third of the Marshallese population has already emigrated abroad. Although climate change is not cited as a driving factor, the document notes their concern regarding the livability of the islands.
In 2014, according to a submission to the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of internally displaced peoples, flooding forced inhabitants of Majuro Atoll, where more than half of the population lives today, to flee their homes. For the capital city, located on the atoll, a 1-meter (about 3-foot) sea-level rise would mean 40% of the buildings will be permanently inundated and flooded.
If by 2100, plans or international funding are not put in place to prevent a 2-m (about 6-ft) sea-level rise, then the entire population of the country will need to migrate from their lands, the government says.
International funding and support to deter this course is key, according to the government’s adaptation plan. Because the nation-state’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is estimated at 0.00001%, while they endure important consequences of climate change, locals say big polluters need to provide more direct aid to the islands.
“I would like to address the leaders in bigger countries — who are also big emitters — and highlight the fact the Marshall Islands are made up of flat atolls,” Jeita says, “so they are very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”
No longer in Bikini, Alson Kelen remains wary. With outmigration, the Marshallese will lose their livelihoods, culture, freedom and traditional skills, he says. “They will lose their sense of pride, cultural pride — the saddest state that I can’t even explain.”
Banner image: Two Marshallese walking on a beach. Image by Asian Development Bank via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
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