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3a~teke NA!3ET:.RI: General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Council of the Churches cf Christ, USA, until recently Coordinator of the Church and Society Program, Pacifi(~ Conference of Churches. Islands caiuscd the final decision was of Churches, plus requests ircm the Nazshall WCC tu consider sending this small delegation. A made in consultation with lea(?ers of the United by a 10CJ1 ecumenical plallninq cun.mittee comprise(l of leaders from the United Ch\lrch and the Catholic Church. The purposes of the visit were: (i) to assess the residual radiation problem as an en’~ironmental and health hazard; (ii) to st~ldy the social and human cost of the US military presence; (iii) to consult with the churches of the Marshalls regarding these questicns; .33(1 (iv) to explore with the churches, in the context Of the WCC’S BEST COPY AVAILABLE
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15 should be noted that while the team included an ex~crt on radiaticn ci church ccncern, -w~lli.nq to listen to all persons and groups having significant messaaes about that situation. We saw our role to k interpretive, reflect~v?, consultative and directed towzrds a clearer, mere Helpful response on the part of the chcrches. :..-.onqthe categories of people we encountered were: people displaced from their land~ grcups that experienced high levels of radioactive f~~~out, people living in “tempcrary” homes or are affected because their land is continually used for US presence and missile t~sting, officials of the Marshall Islands Governments and other Eclitical leaders, church leaders, a lawyer, medical doctorsl ,-lssionaries, an anthropologist, US officials and civilian employees ZE $.wajalein and American scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Zn the 37 years since the atom bomb was first “dropped” on the ;:~rs!~alls at-~ikini, the lives of not only the exiles from their l.’>.mcl..nd(Bikini ant? Enewetok) , or the grcups irradiated, but the llves of all ]iarshallese have been radically altered. The effects c~le and repcrted health and env~ronmental effects associated with ‘if? extensive L’S nuclear wecipons tes!ting program in the Marshalls. T:lay, in the bro~d sense, “ra~llcltion” is a basic, pervading I 1“.tieed,a new culture, vocabulary and mythology have developed cround the radiat~on question. Whenever there 1s a physical jebility, a.birth anomaly or other abnormality, the people tend to believe that such had not occurred before “The Bomb”. Cases of fish poisoning, unusual plant disease, the demise of the highly to be attributed to radiation, even though this is contrary to scientific evidence. Myth cr reality, these anxieties and fears are :.sinfully real,. and they are a consequence of the testing program. The radiation question is a difficult one, even for scientists who k,ave been wor}:inq with it for many years. Many dedicated LIS scientists k,ave been involved in an extensive effort over many years tO aSSeSS and treat the effects of radiation exposure of Narshallese and to mcnitor the residual radioacti>’ity contaminating many of the islands In the northern atolls. It would appear that they have performed ‘~.ithhonesty, and in most cases -- particularly in recent years -- with a reasonable level of competence. Nevertheless it is a~*~aYs possible to identify areas where more attention should have been focused. Two such areas which have become critically important are (i) the education of the Marshallese on the nature of radiation and its human and environmental effect and (ii) prok’iding adequate medical care and compen:;ation for victims of the atomic bomb test. Related to the first area the recent US Department of Energy (DOE) kooks on the radioactive contamination of Enewetok, Bikini and the northern atolls have been almost totally ineffective~ and in some
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instances, cc~lnterproductive in explaining the nature LJf radiation ~s~-shallese anti English and clearly aimed at a lay dudience. Most ~=ncation of the results in terms of the average risk Of dying Of . ~~n~er -- perhps presented this way in an effort to simplify the issue -- tends to mask the variability of the data and its unc~rt21nties, making the results misleading. :Nith regard to the second area, the US medical surveillance program conducted by Brookkaven National Laboratory under DOE contract is z narrowly flocuse,dresearch effort to identify the late effects ,-*-.,. radiation in the most heavily exposed Marshallese people. The :reatment by the US of radiation induced health effects and compen- .-~tion for these effects have been largely but not totally limited co the= effects which have been clearly identified by the surveillance ;ucgram as beinq radiation induced, mainly, thyroid abnormalities U@alth effects that have not ken statistically linked to radiation ~n tne Marshallese population under study are generally not treated -- exceptions have been made but generally these have not ken in accokd with Brookhaven’s contract with DOE -- and the \‘-tirns are not compensated.L- In effect, the burden of proof lies r.ct with the US to demonstrate the disease is not radiation induced, :t with the ‘;ictim to demonstrate that it was. s ~der whether the medical surveillance program should be so narrowly I ,:~fined; whether the people in the surveillance program who have Leen categorized as “unexposed controls” should be so categorized; c.n’~whether the level of compensation and the people who qualify for L= are appropriately defined. !:’~arlyeveryone with whom we spoke felt that the Marshall Islands has serious, unique health problems and inadequate care (the lack of ~.,:althcare facllltles is o~vlous even to the casual observer) ; that ail of the people should be given comprehensive health care regardless of whether they have been categorized as “exposed” or “unexposed”; that the new Marshall Islands Government does not have adequate capacity to do this; and that it is the responsibility of the us government not just to give funding~ but to ensure by all reasonable means that such care is made available. Moreover, a Narshalls government-endorsed independent medical survey might bc helpful in moving more decisively in this direction. v~lved in radiation monitoring and health surveillance prOgramS. I.nong the Marshallcse who are participants in the Brookhaf’en surveillance program some have even said~ “the Plarshallese are beinq used as ‘guinea pigs”; “and that the fallout from the 1954 Bravo *.c5t was not an acci.!cn~.” Unfortunately the scientists working today are forced to carry * policy accumulated over attributed to the DOE’s ation. Some charge that the baggage of mistakes and changes in the past 37 years. Weheard ulterior motives educations efforts regarding residual radiscientists are giving conflicting messages.
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The probiem of the primary contaminated atolls, Bikini and Cnewetok, is deeply troubling. A serious cleanup attempt is being made at E~.e’,~ecok,at a--reported expenditure of $218 million. Irithe light of the drastic measures and ur,usual lifestyle required for resettlement, i: is nGt yet clear if many of the people will chcose to return. 3i:b:iniposes a more difficult case than Enewetok, and thus far the US Government has taken the pcsition that cleanup would be too c:<:ensive. It would seem that a profound mcral and leqal question is F-SE2 here for the glGbal community. Who is to decide’ upon such x ~ghty matters of land abuse and restoration? While even a very l~,perfect cleanup at Bikini could cost several hundred million ‘lzllzrs, some ?Iarsi]allesc pointed out that the US Government is t:;e !!X missiles, now being tested at Kwajalein. At ore meeting an ~~-~icu~ate young mall asked, “Why can the US do whatever it chooses?” ;.= a most ha-sic level, this situation must be seen as one of the many tragic effects of the arms race. It was the US perception of and social ~tat~ls of thr now nation. IL is at the Kwa_jalein Atoll where we see the embodiment of this question. The Kwajalein people, most of them now living in crowded dismal conditions on 27 Ha. (67 acrq Ebeye Island, are seeking, thus far unsuccessfully, to attain a measure of restoration to their l~nd, which is being used as part of the missile testing range. The determination of the ~wajalein people, working through an a~le story in itself. The Kwajalein people will without doubt play a key role in this contin~llnq debate. ~~~;~ler~ and the litigation to pursue health damage and land claims ha’~e become a significant, often troubling political factor. This? too, is a consequence of the weapons testing program. Are the people b~ing exploited in ne.d ways through the lawyers, even as they deal with older injustices? Is there an unfortunate “pull” towards mQneY s.21utions, or compensation, rather than long-term restoration of the basic relationships between the people and their land and culture? Perhaps, but the lawyers apparently have brought these greatly disaclvaritaged people a new means of much-needed power, and it would be most unwise to jeopardize this by attacking their
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~c.lte of their d,ivision. In co.mn?unities where virtually all persons beionq to the churci~, and wk.ere virtually all menbers of the local g~”;crnment councils are church people, it is the custom to speak Gn political ~.nd economic matters through civic channels. ::hile we have regretted tb.at a clearl official church statement has not ccme forward from the Marshalls on these concerns, many ch.’~rch pecple tiave spoken o~lt~ ar,d we must trust the churches of t:!e Harshalls t.~ find tl-.eirown appropriate official way of response. NIQ were at all times made to feel that the concern represented by the visit was mUCh needed and deeply appreciated. The Mar.shallese peaple want the world to know what has happened to them. They want ~k,e whole c~,urch to pray for them and to speak out on their behalf: pendence and inteqrity as a people. 1. While this report is openly critical of US policy and practice in the Marshall Islands, we must point out that this situation is in a deep sense just a part of the wider problem of the global arms race. The alle~’iation of the difficulties of the Marshallese people will depend largely upon reducing the need for continued :~trategic weapcns tests. Our response as a global church must be seen in relatiGn to the biblical mandate for peacemaking. Ordinary people in the Marshall Islands consistently told us that the regional and world church must continue to make people more aware of wh,at is happening there. The churches shculd continue to play a responsible role in strengthening the accountability of the United States and the United Nations for what is happening in the Pacific Island Trust T~rritory. We should continue to seek guidance frtim the cnu~chcs of the Marshalls in fulfilling this Long- term questions of political status are especially critical at this moment in history. Unrcso@ed health, land and economic problems will tend to influence long-term political decisions. It is im~ortant that there be a maxim~m of open public discussion on the proposed new political status. The churches, both within and outside of the Marshalls, shou”ld seek to play a constructive role in this process, particularly in raising value questions.
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. 4. In light of serio’~s, unique health problems, a much higher level l zf health care is needed for the Marshall Islands~ for the whole gcFailatiOn, and cn a continuing basis. Consultation is needed to determine potentially effective ways for promoting this. ‘i-. Profound moral and legal questions are raised in the matter of the racliatien-contaminated atolls. Who shall decide and upon what basis shall they or shall they not be “cleaned”. It would seem appropriate for the churches to project such questions, even if final action would seem totally dependent upon US willingness to respond. 6. The Flarshallese people will be living with the reality of ionizinq radiation for a long time to come. Efforts at educating them ut it are extremely important. Thus far, howeverf such e orts have net been effective. It appears that the level of ‘ trust for the US Department of Energy is so low that this educational task should be taken up by some otherl more trusted i. A related, but slightly different point than 6: We found that a serious lack of technical information exists in the Marshalls about the” radiation problem. It would seem important that the US Government make an unreserved effort to supply and the Government of the Marshalls to serve as custodian for a basic library and file of technical reports and papers accessible to interested persons and groups. l 8. In no wa>’ would we jeopardize the effectiveness of the lawyers I seeking to bring a greater measure of justice to the Marshallese groups engaged m litigation against the US Government for health, environmental and other claims. At the same time, it might be helpful for the Government of the Marshalls to establish guidelines for the lawyers, in the interest of the Marshallese groups, including guidelines for lawyer’s fees. 9. Since the sit-in demonstration last year at Kwajalein (called “Operation !Iomecoming” by the Marshallese), the Kwajalein Missile Range Base officials have taken an unnecessarily harsh line against the Marshallese community at Ebeye. We would hope that even though many of the basic~ long-term questions have not been resolved, the people, as the rightful owners of Kwajalein, will he trcatccl with ~lignity ~n{l respect, that Base officials will limit nor withhold essential services. P.S. A more detailed version along with a complete itinerary and some historical notes may be obtained from the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (150, route de Ferney~ Geneva, Switzerland) ~ which ocgahized the visit.