Bikini nuclear refugees seek US aid to leave Marshall Islands
Source: The Times of India
MAJURO (Marshall Islands): Nearly 70 years after they were uprooted to make way for United States' nuclear tests, Bikini Islanders have approved two new resolutions seeking Washington's aid to relocate again -- including one citing the "psychological toll" of leaving their atoll.
For decades, Bikini islanders have struggled to survive on Kili, an inhospitable and isolated island with no lagoon for fishing or calm anchorage for boats.
It has reached an intolerable stage for the Bikini Council, which has now requested Washington's assistance with relocating the people who have lived in exile since the start of the nuclear testing at Bikini atoll in 1946.
The United States tested 24 nuclear weapons at Bikini, including its largest hydrogen bomb, Bravo, in 1954.
"We may have no option but to relocate," Bikini Mayor Nishma Jamore said as he outlined the future for the 800 residents on the island. "Climate change is real. We are feeling and experiencing it. In the future we will have no choice (but to relocate)."
Jamore was speaking Thursday after the Bikini Council approved two resolutions seeking to have the Resettlement Trust Fund for Bikini islanders, established by Washington in 1982, used for relocation outside of the Marshall Islands.
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