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agree, the chief and his people believe they have lived on the sandy
atoll since the beginning of time. As
the chief told a Congressional subcommittee in 1972, “it is the only
ee
os
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“eats
aw whens
Scouring the beaches for seashells is
an early morning activity. Collecting
shark's teeth is another pastime.
Occasionally there's a friendly visit
from 64-year-old Johannes Peter, Chief
of the dri Enewetak.
7
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remain that way. ‘We try to let them
live their own lives,” said Col. Mixan.
wards,” he chuckied.
few frail pandanus and breadfruit
Pa
*
there are few coconut palms and
in the year since their return the
people have survived mainly on fish
they catch in the lagoon and staples
delivered by ship. They spend their
time clearing brush and nursing a
aa
.
place which God hasset aside for us
and no other people. For us to live
elsewhere would make us squatters
and vagabonds."
Once, coconut, pandanus, and
breadfruit grew in abundance on
Enewetak. And coconut crabs, a
Marshall islands delicacy, were
plentiful. But now, even on Japtan,
an island relatively undisturbed by
fewer crabs.
a
”~
“They are a gentle people. They
capture your heart, and you want to
do something. The trouble is, you
can do too much for them. When we
leave, they will have to be self-suff:cient.”
The dri Enewetak have already acquired a taste for soft drinks and
chewing gum. Ouring a visit to Japtan the colonel was impressed by
how quietly the children sat in
church, and he complimented the
chief on their deportment. The chief
the years of American occupation,
.
ed
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seedlings, which will not bear fruit
for another five or six years.
Eventually, the Department of tnterior will build homes on Japtan,
Medren, and Enewetak and replant
other islands with more breadfruit,
pandanus, coconut, and other crops.
But it will be years, ifever, before life
on Enewetak will be as it once was.
It was and is an austere life, without electricity or indoor plumbing.
And by the people's choice, it will
grinned. “We give them gum afterYet despite their proximity, social
visits by the American workers are
rare and special occasions, for
which the chief dresses in a shortsleeved shirt, red- and silver-striped
tie, and an Air’ Force officer's flight
cap resptendent with three stars.
Usually, he stands waiting on the
wooden pier that stretches into the
lagoon like a welcome mat to qreet
visitors with a hearty handshake, a
grin, and a throaty chuckle. And almost always there are gifts of handmade shell necklaces—tokens of
friendship from a people who endured three decades in exile to the
people who put them there. and
are now working to bring them home
aN
AIRMAN