Methodist church help nuclear victims

By Craig DeSilva

HONOLULU, Hawai’i (October 5, 2000 – PIDP/CPIS) – The United Methodist Church has passed a resolution calling for increased reparations to Marshall Islanders whose atolls were bombed during nuclear testing by the U.S. military in the 1940s and 1950s.

Methodist church officials and Marshall Islands residents who now live in Hawai’i announced the resolution this week in Honolulu.

About 1,000 Methodist church delegates consisting of clergy and lay people worldwide approved the resolution – entitled “The Legacy of Atomic Testing on the Marshall Islands” – at their General Conference, which was held in Cleveland, Ohio on May 3-12.

“We believe it’s important for those of us in the church to speak for the rights of persons who are somewhat voiceless in the political system and who can’t even vote,” said Barbara Grace Ripple, district superintendent of the United Methodist Church in Honolulu.

Ripple said fighting for the cause of Pacific Islanders hits close to home for her. Ripple lived in Saipan and her daughter-in-law and grandchildren are of Chamorro ancestry.

“Those of us in the Pacific Islands must stand for one another and those things such as atomic testing and ravages . . . that must be addressed. Apologies and reparations must be made to assure such things don’t happen again,” she said.

The resolution will be sent to the U.S. Congress and President Clinton in an effort to include more funding for Marshall Islands bombing victims in the Compact of Free Association, which is currently being negotiated between the U.S. and the Marshall Islands. Funding provisions of the 15-year agreement expire next year.

The current Compact includes $2 million a year for Marshall Islanders suffering from the fallout of nuclear testing.

But Ron Fujiyoshi, a pastor at the United Church of Christ, said that’s not enough.

“The problems in the Marshall Islands have not been solved,” Fujiyoshi said. “The U.S. government should use its surplus to clean up shop and provide compensation.”

For nearly 20 years during the Cold War era, the United States conducted 67 above-ground nuclear and thermonuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands. Victims for decades have fought to secure full compensation for the loss of their homelands, health and the lives of residents.

In 1946, the people of Bikini and Enewetak atolls were evacuated from their islands to make way for a series of nuclear tests. Also affected during the blasts were residents of Rongelap and Utrik atolls.

Marshall Islanders say children that were born after the blasts have developed medical conditions associated with the radiation fallout. But medical doctors say there is no proof the conditions are caused by the post-World War II nuclear tests.

“I’m sad to say my people are still struggling,” said Valentina Bobo, a Marshall Island resident who now lives in Hawai’i. “Some of the atolls that have been tested on have disappeared.”

“Not all of our people have been able to return to their homelands,” said Bobo, whose grandfather was one of the chiefs who gave the U.S. military permission to do testing on Bikini Atoll. “The illnesses and diseases that have occurred from nuclear testing in the Marshalls cannot all be treated. It’s not only my people from Bikini that have been affected, but the whole Marshall Islands is affected. We don’t have the means to treat all the people in the Marshall Islands.”

“We our unable to correct the injustices,” she added. “Our culture has been discontinued. We cannot replace what has been damaged. Our language is disappearing. We’ve lost what God has given us.”

Support for Marshall Islanders is also coming from residents of neighboring Pacific Island territories who have been affected by U.S. involvement, such as Guam.

“My people and I are aware of the situation in the Marshall Islands and nuclear testing on Bikini Island,” said a tearful Jill Benaventes, a Chamorro artist whose husband is the elected chief of the Chamorro nation. “But nothing could prepare me in witnessing all the pain and suffering the people have and are still enduring today.”

Women throughout the Marshall Islands gathered last week in Majuro for a conference of survivors from nuclear testing in the Pacific. The group is working to bring together other survivors of nuclear testing throughout the Pacific.

“We are not the only ones affected by radiation exposure,” said Elma Coleman, a Marshall Island native who now lives in Hawai’i. “We met with people from Tahiti and indigenous Americans. They were surprised to hear the stories of the Marshallese because they thought their stories were exclusively theirs.”

Women at the conference passed three resolutions. The proposals ask the Japanese government to formally apologize to the Marshallese for injustices caused during World War II; asks the United States to formally apologize to the Marshallese for conducting nuclear tests on their islands; and calls on the United States to have the territory of Guam returned to the Chamorro people.

A candlelight vigil will be held at the Hawai’i State Capitol building Friday at 6 p.m. in honor of the Marshall Islands victims of nuclear testing.

Said Barbara Ripple: “This has to stop. We cannot continue to lose our people and give up our land.”