Unfortunately,
the lack of & lagoon or protected anchorage
presents very serious problems to the inhabitants of Kili.
The
unfavorable axis of the island (063-240°) in relation to the
prevailing northeast trade winds and the shelving comparatively
narrow reef,
are factors which cause the island to be isolated
during many months of the year,
the equatorial
prevail.
able.
front
lies
From December through March
to the south,
and
northeasterly winds
Landing conditions are therefore generally: unfavor-
From November into late March it is possible to get a
boat ashore only during a few very brief periods,
because of
the large breakers which crash against the rocky beaches.
cannot be loaded and trade goods cannot be off~loaded.
Copra
These
unfavorable surf conditions naturally prevent utilization of
the
important marine resources,
poorer than those
The Resettlement
of the atoll
which at best are
infinitely
of Bikini.
on Kili
The ex-Bikini people apparently experienced difficulty in
adjusting to Kili from almost
the
very beginning.
in part to the different ecological conditions.
This
was due
The change
from an atoll existance where marine resources were abundant
and the lagoon and Jand areas stretched away as far as the eye
could
see,
to a
small,
isolated island without a lagoon,
and
without the rich marine resources which are found in an atoll
environment,
Kili
was drastic.
was and nas
of adjustment.
continued
This psychological attitude toward
to be a vital
importance
in the lack
The refusal to accept the move to Kili as final
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