Dr. Joseph Maher
December 16, 1976
Page 3
groups,
established families and a way of life largely different
from what would be
required on Enewetak,
Even though the Enewetakese have expresse.. strong desires to relocate,
past circumstances and.some factual information prompts one
to question commitments to return.
has already constructed a few homes
The Department of the Interior
on the atolls and I understand
that their style and structure have been disapproved by certain
Enewetakese.
The soil on Enewetak is
low in nutrients making agriculture a
nonviable form of subsistence.
A return to fishing is almost a
necessity.
Yet, aS pointed out above, few know or-’remember the
skills required.
The period of transition for the Enewetakese will
indeed be troublesome. -{f think the Enewetak know this and are some~
what confused about the consequences of their desixe to return.
I'm certain they have been told that they should reclaim their homeland from the federal government since it was theixs in the beginning.
The experiences of thirty years ago suggest some inconsistencies.
For example, families who never experienced life on the atoll will
experience Similar kinds of adjustment problems as their parents
did not so long ago.
In fact, those adjustment probiems are well.
known since the experiences have been passed on from one generation to the other.
Moreover, many are still living who vividly
recall the relocation and the problems they and others experienced.
Hence, given this information, one would wonder why over 60 percent
of the Enewetakese who never Lived on the atoll would want to give
up present lifestyles and attempt to return to a way of
forgotten or never experienced.
The
relocation of people
to
an
area once
used as
a
life long
nuclear bomb
test site has far-reaching implications.
On the one hand, if the
Enewetakese return and manage to survive the effects of contamination much can be said about the generalizability of this to future
groups
can be
caught in
evacuated
similar circumstances.
It suggests that people
from an area where the danger of radiation contam-
ination is high and then return thirty years later to resume daily
living patterns.
For the moment, consider the tormenting thought that the Enewetak
relocatees do become negatively affected by radioactive levels and
have to be moved to other atolls again.
‘The consequences could be
alarming and have the potential of focusing public attention.
Most
assuredly, public resistance to nuclear fuel reactors would increase
and intensify at an alarming rate and probably bring construction to
a halt.
Whatever
the outcome,
certain humanitarian groups will be watching
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and closely monitoring the relocation efforts.