A Preliminary Proposal - the Effects of Resettlement of Marshall Island Youth in a High Risk Environment

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Effects of Resettlement of Marshall Island Youth ina High Risk En vi roi ment Joseph E.Trimble and Robert Kiste Bat tell e Human Affairs Research Centers In1946,the small communi.ty that inhabited Bikini Atoll in the northern Marshall Islands was relocated when its ancestral homeland was selected as the United States ' first nuclear test site in the Pacific. Numerous other Marshallese were subseque nt lyre located as these tests continued.Prior to relocation the Marshallese were an isolated people having relatively little contact with outsiders,but since 1946 they have experienced multiple relocation s that have altered their traditional living patterns in numerous ways. The original re7.o cation of these pe op ls was conducted in the name of vital scientific research,without serious regard a number of research efforts have investigated their subsequent adjustment problems, none of these studies produced a systematic plan for there habitation of the Marshall escort heir eventual return to their homeland. This year,small groups of these people are beginning to return home, without benefit of adequate economic or social prc - pa rations.Consequently,they will und cub ted ly experience numerous problems of personal and collective readjustment,Their family and home patterns, work activities, community structures,

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patterns of social organization, and cultural values must all be realigned to their new setting. Moreover, many of these people were born after the1946relocation,and have never experienced life in their native land. They are therefore totally unprepared for the problems they will face. and atolls,are considered to be high risk environments. Radiation fallout resulting from the 46 different bomb tests in the late forties and early fifties exists in abundance in certain areas. Resettlement will occur in areas where radio - logical levels are considered safe. To expand in habitability, the Department of Defense is currently,scraping off layers of radioactive soil,mixing it with concrete and storing it in a crater on Enewetalc. Inthe meantime, returnees must avoid the Radioactive fallout has affected certain flora and fauna. Despite warnings some early returnees ate breadfruit and pandanus. Monitoring of metabolic processes in these people revealed that some had increased body burdens of cesium-137. As a result of these and related instances measurable amounts of plutonium were recently found in urine samples. Although there settlement is officially scheduled to begin within the year,returning natives are becoming fearful of the hazards. Enewetak and Bikini natives also know ofthe pain and suffering experiences of natives on the neighboring islands of Rongelap and Uti rik.People on these islands received radiation burns and exposure from the bomb tes.ts and as a

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result incidence of thyroid cancer is unusually high. Most recently,a young boy born of an exposed parent was diagnosed as having thyroid cancer raising questions of second generation genetic effects or latent radi at.ion as possibilities for all who were or are exposed, The possibility of similar problems occurring among the returning groups has generated a great deal of anxiety. Despite the fear and restrictions the people of Bikini and Enewetak are determined to return. They are tired of being moved from one island to the next and now &sire t o resettle pared to organize and prepare the land for resettlement.No agency, howev,er, has initiated efforts to assess the potential psychosocial and readjustment and coping problems facing .Although all returnees will be affected in some way, children are most likely to experience the most difficulties. Restrictions on native foods and straying on to " hotspots " present real dangers especially since Marshallese children are raised in a highly unstructured environments.Indeed,conflicts between traditional child - rearing patterns and compliance with safety standards will occur.Furthermore,most of the children were born and reared during the period away from traditional lands. Some have been exposed to varying levels of acculturation. Non traditional norms have been internalized during the early socialization process,Therefore,the combination of the high risk environment,there settlement process itself and becoming re socialized to traditional Enewetak and Bikini will very likely

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create adaptation and coping problems. There is one more issue. Due tothe poor nutrient cond i - tion of the soil and restrictions on diet returning natives will require federal assistance. Diets will need to be supple - mented with food provided by government agencies. The likelihood of this program producing a state of dependence and reliance on government welfare programs is high. As a consequence,youth may grow to expect the subsistence and support as a way of life possibly affecting incentives to learn traditional forms of providing for families.Similarly role models may undergo drastic revision furthering complicating the development process. Th'e return of Enewetak and Bikini youth to traditional lands raises serious ' ethical and scientific questions related to the effects of forced migration and resettlement to a high risk environment. Overwhelming problems of collective and personal .readjustment loom large.Resettlement must be carefully documented to gain a better understanding of the practical problems of adaptation and coping in unusual environments. Moreover, it may be possible to collect and analyze early data to design an intervention scheme and prevent problems from occurring. Research Desi yn and Duration The purposes of this research project will be t o perform i n - depth social,psychological,and cultural analyses of the functional processes and adaptation and coping problems occui ring in there settlement of a displaced society,and to explore strategies for developing a nearly intervention scheme.

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Emphasis will be placed on the youth experiences. The basic approach of the project will be longitudinal and will emphasize an interdisciplinary research perspective. Ethnographic and functional a fia lysis at the individual,social and cul k ural levels will also be utilized. The two principal investigators for the project will be a psychologist and an anthropologist.Research scientists from the fields of public health, sociology and clinical psychiatry could also play a role. The principal,objects of the study will be the full range of re habitation developmental processes occurring among the return - ing Marshallese as they attempt tore - establish their t radi - t ional communities. These processes include individual coping norm formation, and value generation.Secondary objects of study will be the governmental assistance programs offered to the returnees,insofar as these programs affect their rehab i - t ation processes.Particular attention will be given to unintended consequences of these programs such.as dependency o r Measurement techniques employed in this project will include records, and critical - event documentation. Federal agencies and territorial officials anticipate the total resettlement to occur within the next four years. The

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study ideally should be conducted during there settlement period particularly since many critical - incidents could occur that could bear on analysis and interpretation, The first four to six months would be spent designing the study,developing data collect ion instruments, and establishing collaborative arrangements with local officials and native leaders. immediate attention as incidents have already occurred that could The effort requires influence future outcomes. Events occurring now need to be documented and combined with future occurrences to produce a data base that would enable development of intervention schemes should the problems surface sooner than anticipated. Typically,resettlement of traditional lands is an unusual event in the life history of cultural groups.Eventual resettlement of Bikini and Enewetak is even more unusual as returnees will have to contend with a toxic environment,changes in quality of life, and effects which will disrupt the natural sequence of events in the socialization process.These events present an excellent opportunity to systematically document and assess a social phenomenon about which social scientists and planners know of effects of resettlement process on youth and the socio cultural Results would greatly increase our understanding and psychological changes that occur as people attempt to r e - establish communities. Data could serve as a solid basis for developing new intervention and prevention models. Forced relocation of people and communities to make room for technological research or development is likely to be repeated

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in the future in different settings.Possibilities include coal excavation on the lands of American Indians and Alaska Natives, nuclear waste disposal in southwestern states,and oil shale exploration throughout the west.All such actions would r might well involve relocation of residents.In turn,this,could eventually lead to future re habitation movements. Hence, study of the current re habitation process in the Marshall Islands should facilitate(a)greater awareness of the social, psycho l - og ical,and cultural consequences of population displacement, and (b) development of guidelines for more effectively managing relocation andre habitation processes when they are necessary in the future. Resettlement of Bikini and Enewetak will be in full scale operation within the next five months. base the proposed effort requires expeditious funding.Bikini and Enewetak people have already experienced a great deal of To develop a solid data grief as a result of their original relocation in1946.Little was done then to identify and develop intervention models. The opportunity now exists to prevent further hardships to these impoverished people by receiving appropriate support to conduct Joseph E. Trim bl c is a Research Scientist at the Bat tell e Human Affairs Research Centers. Ile holds a Ph.D. i n Social Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. His research efforts