The Marshall Islands are a paradise in the Pacific
that the U.S. used to test nuclear weapons.
- This is Bikini.
It is here that the military and scientific personnel of Joint Task Force One
will conduct the tests for the atomic bomb.
Between 1946 and 1958, the U.S. detonated 67 nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands,
which was...
- equivalent to 7,200 Hiroshima bombs.
- The U.S, basically tricked the Marshallese living on Bikini Atoll
to leave behind the little land they had so that it could be used for nuclear testing.
The atomic tests conducted by the U.S. caused forced migration and...
- They have health issues like cancers or thyroid.
Since the tests in the ’40s and ’50s, many Marshall Islanders have moved to the U.S.,
specifically to Arkansas.
- We've been homeless for the last 76 years.
- They have settled in the rolling hills of the Ozarks, nearly 600 miles from the nearest ocean.
I think Marshallese, we're all travelers.
And, you know, with our tiny islands, we built those canoes to travel.
- Nearly one-third of all the Marshallese in the world now live in the U.S.,
and most of them live here in the town of Springdale.
- Better education, better opportunity.
I'd say majority worked at the poultry plants.
- And now the climate crisis is accelerating this migration.
You're talking about an entire country
that could perhaps disappear by the middle of this century.
- So how do the people so far from their homeland stay connected to their roots?
We went to Springdale, Arkansas, to find out how Marshall Islanders came to settle here.
This is Sosylina Jibas-Maddison.
She can never go back to her homeland because it's contaminated.
- I am sixth generation down, I believe, from
the time they took our ancestors from the island.
- Sosylina is the representative for the exiled people of Bikini Atoll who now live in the U.S.
This flag right here is our Bikini Atoll KBE flag.
- And it's kind of based off the American flag. I see stripes and stars.
Yeah, it's on purpose to remind the U.S. of the damage done to the Bikinians.
Three stars right here signifies the three islands
that were demolished at the, during the testing.
- In 1946, the U.S. decided to evacuate Bikini Atoll
and force the 167 residents to leave their homeland.
That's one of the reasons why there is almost 4,000 Bikinians here in the States.
And I believe whatever happened to us Bikinians has affected all of us Marshallese as a whole.
- The U.S. detonated 67 atomic weapons in the Marshall Islands,
23 of them on Bikini Atoll,
including the most destructive nuclear weapon in U.S. history:
- The width of the fireball at this time, about three seconds after detonation, was 4 miles.
- And it was U.S. propaganda that basically tricked the Bikinians to leave their homeland,
so that the U.S. could conduct these tests.
- This is a United States military film showcasing how the U.S. Navy
requested Bikinians to leave their homeland, without any compensation.
- The person speaking is Commodore Ben Wyatt.
He was the military governor in charge of the Marshall Islands
after the U.S. took it over in World War II.
Wyatt asked King Juda, the leader of the Bikinians, to leave
so that the U.S. could begin Operation Crossroads.
The Bikinians were told that this was going to be for the good of all mankind,
which is why King Juda agreed to the U.S.' demands.
- What King Juda said is actually inscribed on the Bikini Atoll flag.
- The wording on here says, "Men otemjej rej ilo bein anij,"
meaning everything is in the hands of God.
- So the Bikinians evacuated
and left on the Navy ship to a much smaller island.
The ladies are carrying stuff back to the LST-1108 that transported them to Rongerik.
- Sosylina's office is covered in pictures of the evacuation.
- That's Ben Wyatt right there and King Juda and other Bikinians.
- Sosylina said the pictures are meant to be a constant reminder
of what happened to her people.
- What does it mean for you that you are from a land that you can't go back to?
- I feel like a nomad,
and it's heartbreaking knowing that we don't have a home to go to.
- The exodus is known to Marshall Islanders as Bikini Day.
It's something they commemorate every year,
even here in Arkansas.
We attended an event marking Bikini Day in Springdale,
where descendants of Bikini who now live in the U.S.
performed songs and dances from their homeland.
And they reenacted the conversation between Ben Wyatt and King Juda
and recreated the Bikinians getting on LST-1108,
the ship that took them from their homeland forever.
Many Bikinians didn’t know that this move was permanent,
that they wouldn't ever be allowed to come back to their home.
I feel like we were betrayed and tricked into believing that
what we were sacrificing was for the good of all mankind
and for everybody in the whole wide world to be safe.
- I had heard of Bikini Atoll in my life only through pop culture.
There was SpongeBob, who lived on Bikini Bottom underneath the atoll.
- We need to get back to Bikini Bottom. - Oh, well.
- And then there's Godzilla, who the U.S. government
apparently tried to kill with a nuclear weapon.
- SpongeBob and Godzilla - it's used as a joke to many people,
but really it's something more serious and devastating...
sad.
- The next day in Springdale, we met up with Benetick Maddison.
Benetick is a project specialist for youth, climate and nuclear issues
at the Marshallese Educational Initiative.
So the Marshall Islands are, on average, 6 feet above sea level,
and we are actually one of four low-lying island nations in the world.
- Meaning that all the land is at or nearly at sea level.
- You're talking about an entire country that could perhaps disappear by the middle of this century.
Right now, we're already experiencing the impacts of climate change.
We're seeing extreme flooding, droughts.
- That drought has made the groundwater in some islands so salty that it's undrinkable.
- And then climate change also plays a role in why people are moving to the States.
And so, when you've got land that's being destroyed, people can't grow crops.
- And if they can't grow crops, many Marshall Islanders go to the urban centers to find jobs.
But that's been difficult.
Youth unemployment is now above 20%.
If they don't find opportunities there, they move here to the States.
- The Pacific Islanders, who first settled in the Marshall Islands 3,000 years ago,
were expert sea travelers who braved the vast ocean in small canoes.
- Boatbuilding is an important island occupation.
No blueprints or handbooks are used in building these fragile outriggers.
- The foundation of the canoe is called "jouj."
"Jouj" in our language is kindness,
and kindness is really the foundation of a Marshallese person.
So that's why it's called "jouj."
Melisa Laelan is descended from Marshallese royalty,
and she showed me what tools her forefathers used to travel. - Many of our ancestors were really good at navigating.
They were the best navigators in the world without using any technologies.
- The art of navigation has been handed down from generation to generation.
- The stick chart, it was used by our ancestors.
And so this was their tool.
By looking at the position of the star
and also feeling the swelling of the ocean,
they'll know what grids they're at.
This was their compass and their map.
- Melisa founded the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese,
which helps bridge the gap for the islanders who have journeyed to the U.S.
- Well, every time I talk about the Marshallese community here in Arkansas,
people just have this odd look like, "What is she talking about?"
A lot of people still don't know about what happened on the islands.
A lot of people know what bikini is - the underwear bikini.
But a lot of people don't know that that word actually came from the Marshall Islands.
- Yeah, the bikini, the swimming wear,
is named after Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
A French designer named it that after he learned about the nuclear tests.
And so Melisa says it's not only important to teach Americans about this history,
but the next generation of Marshallese as well.
- Especially for folks like ourselves, who are starting to learn these issues,
learn what took place back on our lands,
and continue that story, continue the legacy and continue telling our younger generation.
Because if we don't tell [it], it's going to dissipate.
- Melisa is the first and only certified court translator for the Marshallese in Arkansas
and probably all of the U.S. And she realizes that her role here is important.
- I was taking juveniles to the court site
and saw the the need for Marshallese interpreters.
Majority of our Marshallese folks who are moving to Arkansas, they are not proficient in English.
- But Arkansas isn't Melisa's permanent home.
I will have to go back eventually to assume the role of a royal person, yeah.
But I feel the calling that this is where I'm needed the most.
And we're talking about nuclear displacement,
we're talking about climate changes coming up.
What we're doing here is we're creating homes for those who need to move out of those islands.
- But how did the Marshallese community end up in Arkansas to begin with?
Well, that has something to do with the Compact of Free Association.
The Compact of Free Association,
it's a treaty between Marshall Islands government and the U.S. government.
- That's Eldon Alik.
He's a consul general of the Republic of Marshall Islands government.
So one thing to clarify is that while the Marshall Islands was a U.S. territory
when the nuclear tests were being conducted,
it's now an independent nation.
The Marshall Islands and the U.S.
signed a treaty that's usually renewed every 20 years.
It started in 1983, and it's a treaty that
allows Marshallese to come to the States, indefinitely, to come and work.
But, at the same time, the U.S. has control over our land and our air.
- In fact, the U.S. still has an Army base in the Marshall Islands, in Kwajalein,
which used to be a testing center for ballistic missiles.
The next compact is being discussed right now between the U.S. and Marshallese governments.
But many Marshallese want more accountability for the nuclear testing,
especially when it comes to radiation and cancers.
I am hoping that U.S. provide enough funds for all the medical issues that we are facing.
- But what brought Marshallese people to Springdale specifically?
That all began with one man named John Moody.
The story was he came and he worked at the poultry plant here.
- He actually went to Oklahoma for college.
- John Moody didn't want to be interviewed for this film.
But his story is one that all Marshallese know pretty well.
- He moved up here to northwest Arkansas,
where he started working at the poultry plant.
- And he found out that, you know, you don't really need to speak a lot of English.
You don't need to have a lot of skills.
He told his family and friends back home.
We Marshallese would like to follow one another.
So everybody just kind of followed each other and came here.
- The Marshallese community in Arkansas has grown from that one person
to more than 15,000 today.
Since the '80s up until now, we now have that many Marshallese,
with majority of them living here in Springdale.
- And a lot of them work in the poultry industry.
In fact, nearly one-third of all the poultry plant workers
at Tyson Foods in Springdale are Marshallese.
And this grocery store with a pool hall in the back is where they come to hang out after their shifts.
The Marshallese community in northwest Arkansas
has gotten so big that they even have their own community clinic
and radio station.
While more and more Marshallese are moving to the United States,
what's important to remember is that the Marshallese aren't U.S. citizens,
and so that means they can't stay here permanently.
But for most of the Marshallese we spoke to, Arkansas is a temporary home.
My plan is to hopefully go back after college.
The presence of so many Marshallese in Arkansas isn't part of a normal migration pattern.
It's caused by U.S. nuclear testing and destruction.
And now climate change has made the situation on the islands even worse.
And while many would want to go back, some Marshall Islanders don't have a home to go to
and are asking for changes to be made in the next compact with the U.S.
so that there's a pathway for a safe land for them to live on.
We don't have a place to go,
so I'd like to see the U.S. government give us permanent land [so] that we can live.