Weisgall them. (The trust fund pays approximately $40 per month to each Bikinian, and the onetime $1.4 million payment will amount to $1,520 per person.) Nevertheless, thebigger questions remain unanswered. The Bikinians, most of whom have resided on Kili Island for over 30 years, must be resettled. but there are no suitable locations available outside their aroll. Land in the Marshalls is scarce. and there is no- where the Bikinians could resettle without being squatters on someone else's land. Most of the Bikinians. however, reject the possibility of moving our of the Marshall Islands aret (say, to Hawaii), because they fear they would lose their Marshallese identity and cultural heritage. One possible compromise is Wake Atoll, annexed by the United States in 1899 bur considered by some to be part of the Marshall Islands. Located some 425 miles north of Bikini. Wake has no indigenous population. It has very little rainfall and virtually none of the life-sustaining vegetation commonly found throughour the rest of the Marshall Islands, but it does have one very attractive feature for the Bikinians—che American military. The Bikinians’ desire to be looked after by the United States may seem ironic. but it is understandable. The U.S. military removed them from Bikini in 1946. The Bikinians have nor yet been given a home. so they look anxiously to the United States to con- tinue co care tor them. They view Wake asa pocket of continuing U.S. presence in the region, and in 1979 they asked that it be considered as a possible resettlement site. The Pentagon. however, has flatly refused to per- mit them to settle there. Even moreattractive to the Bikinians than Wakeis Eneu, an island five miles south of Bikini in Bikin+ Atoll. Eneu is three times the size of Kili, it provides a calm lagoon for fishing, and it is equipped with an airstrip built for the weaponstesting program. Since it is uncertain whether Enev can handle a large number of people. the Bi92. kinians propose to settle there using a system devised by the people of Enewetak in the mid-1970s, when they, like the Bikinians. were living temporarily on another atoll. When the southern islands of Enewetak were ready for habitation, the people had to decide who would move. Since the whole population could not move at once, the people set up a rotation system by which a cer- tain percentage of the population moved to Enewetak for six months. After six months these people left and were replaced by another group. This rotation program is work- ing successfully today. The Bikinians have proposed to apply it ro Enew Island. If the system is implemented. only part of the Bikinian population could be accommodated on Eneu at any given time: the re- mainder would stay where they are living now. Most of the Bikinians—550, or about 60 per cent——are living on Kili, and the rest live on other atolls in the Marshalls. Some Bikinians may wish to live permanently on Kili or elsewhere without going back to Eneu. Snags and Squabbles It has always been assumed that the Bikinians would live temporarily on Kili uncil they could return to Bikini. If DOE projections are correct. a return to Bikini Island is at least several generations away, so the Bikini resetrlement program should provide continued support for people on Kili. The Bikinian community on Kili will require permanent housing: a short airstrip; and improved ocean access-——either a dock. a deeper channel, or a ferry stationed at the nearest atoll, 40 miles away. Resectlement on Eneu, which the Bikinians have proposed to Congress and the administration, is not without pitfalls. Is the island safe for habitation? If it is, how will a rotation program be enforced? Who will insure that the people do notgo five miles north to eat the food on Bikini Island? Who will take charge of the program. and who will insure that ships arrive with imported food at Eneu on a regular basis? 93.