Wersgall trolled by an rroij; the island had passed to the United Srates as public domain land after World War II. By moving to Kili the Bikinians effectively rejected theirown paramount chief, who had been unable to help them return home, and adopted the United States as their surrogate irory, To this day the people refuse to recognize the trovy who claims dominion over Bikini. island is virtually inaccessible from November to May, when the trade winds cause heavy surf to pound 1. Since visits by trust territory ships to Kili are infrequent and irregular, the Bikinians have lost their incentive to produce copra, which is frequently left to spoil or is eaten by rats before the ships arrive. At times. food supplies on Kili have run critically short. In 1952 supplies were so low that the U.S. gov- ernment airdropped emergency rations onto the island (without the aid of parachutes. so that most of the food was smashed and ren- Do fo... dered inedible). The drastic change from an atoll existence, with its abundant fish and islands as far as the eye could see. to an isolated island with “¢~ aan ; -Hawar a 0. ’ ls, a . Marshail islands ee a ' Enewercd prewero ° — reUbint N Rongerik , « Vjos,| toe ° : , Islands men, not farmers. “ ty Marshall ° took a severe psychological and physical toll on the people. Kili’s soil is richer than B1kini's, but the Bikinians are not skilled in the intensive agricultural techniques needed to make the island productive. They are fisher- to a 4. 0 no lagoon and inaccessible marine resources. ly iefein” K * . Majuro™: - 00 gil MILES © 1980, The Washington Pos:. The majority of the Bikinians. who now number more than 900, continue to live on Kili. Life ts difficule there. Kili is an island, not an atoll, and a smail island art that—0.36 The Bikinians were completely self-sufficient before 1946, but after years of living on free U.S. food programs on Kili, they have virtually lost the will to provide for themselves. Moreover, since they refuse to accept the move to Kili as anything but a temporary resettlement, they have been reluctant to ad- just fully to life on the island. They miss the diversions available on the islands of Bikini Atoll. As one Kili resident lamented: “At Bikini, one could always go to anotherisland. but here it’s always the same. Sleep, wake up, Kili. Sleep. wake up. Kili. Again, sleep, wake up, Kili. Kili is a prison."’ Baker and Bravo square miles (230 acres) or less than one-sixth the land area of Bikini Atoll. It has neither a lagoon nor sheltered fishing grounds, so the skills the people developed for lagoon and ocean life at Bikini are useless on Kili. Moreover, since Kili runs parallel to the northeast trade winds it has no leeward side, and the While the people of Bikini were all but neglected by the United States. the nuclear testing program at Bikini Atoll received top government priority. The United States detonated 23 nuclear devices there between 1946 and 1958, and the testing formed a crucial part of the U.S. nuclear weapons development program. Bikini suffered severe damage 82. 83.