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.