On Oct. 1, 1980 the Enewetak people returned to their atoll to find devastation. Half of the atoll was uninhabitable due to radioactive contamination. The island of Runit was a dumping ground for radioactive waste. The main island of Enjebi was too contaminated for the Enewetakese to resettle there. The native foods, integral not only to their diet, but to their culture and way of life, were either gone or too contaminated to eat. Where once was lush vegetation, banana trees and coconut palms, now was barren land. For hundreds of years copra - the meat of the coconut and source of coconut oil - had been a valuable trading commodity, with the Spanish in the 1600's, subsequently with the Germans, then with the Japanese.
Without the ecosystem that created and supported their lifestyle, the Enewetak people became dependent on imported food and developed health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. They no longer had the vegetation that had enabled them to produce canoes and matting, that gave meaning and activity to their daily lives.
Their beloved atoll, the heart of the people, was "broken".
1 comment:
This is especially pertinent today with the latest developments around the world in nuclear armament.
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