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With the 50th anniversary of
the March 1, 1954 Bravo test approaching, Rongelap Senator
Abacca Anjain-Maddison says the people are still in need of
medical care and better compensation from the US government.
“The 50th anniversary is an
important time to make our case to the United States,” she
told the Journal. “You (US government) still owe us.”
Although the 50th
anniversary is a sad and emotional time, “it’s also a
celebration, too,” she said. “Through all the hardships and
turmoil, we’re still here; we’ve survived. We’re a very
strong people and we will fight until we reach our goal.”
Most Rongelap islanders,
particularly those living on Mejatto Island in Kwajalein,
want to return home — if it’s safe, she said.
“Who wouldn’t want to be on
their own homeland?” she asked. But the older people, who
have suffered serious health problems from both the fallout
exposure from Bravo and the continuing exposure from living
at Rongelap until 1985, don’t want the same future for their
children and grandchildren, she said.
Rongelap is forging ahead
on the resettlement program, she said. “The younger
generation wants to return to explore and discover
Rongelap,” she said.
And the leadership has
taken steps to attempt to allay the fears of older people
about continued radiation exposure from return to Rongelap
by installing a whole body radiation counter on Rongelap and
training Rongelap islanders to operate it, she said.
But 50 years after Bravo,
“our people are still in exile and in need of better medical
care and compensation,” she said. “The US government should
provide for what it did to Rongelap.”
Rongelap islanders will be
joining in anniversary programs, and are planning some of
their own, she said.
Rongelap people are
planning to speak to student and other groups about their
experience. “I’m very surprised that many Marshallese don’t
know their history,” she said. “Even the younger generation
from the four atolls.”
Rongelap elders want to
share their experiences with others. It’s a way of both
passing on history to younger people and healing themselves
in the process, she said. |
