Marshallese Narrative of History
Question
In the Marshallese narrative of history, it is the experiences of individuals that
determines if they are baam (bombed), and affected by the radiation, not the atoll of residence on a particular day as the Compact prescribes. The life histories and life stories of the people most affected by the weapons testing describe the suffering of the Marshallese people, a fact that is absent from any of the U.S. government accounts of the effects of the testing program. U.S. government documents do not discuss the pain involved in battling cancer and other serious medical conditions.
The Marshallese narratives put faces on the injuries and damages caused by the testing program… The oral histories force us to come to terms with the human costs of U.S. nuclear superiority. (Bravo for the Marshallese) There are several things we can learn from the Bravo for the Marshallese book— especially that when studying language anthropologically, it is not just words that have meanings, but the forms of language use and their contexts are important in making meanings, too. Interestingly, we can think of how material events are also symbolic— that nuclear detonations can have effects on language and meanings. In this essay, I want you to tell me why there were changes in the Marshallese language—in effect, the creation of a “unique Marshallese radiation language”— and what it enables. Do so by writing about the following:
1) How those in Rongelap were alienated from the land and how that affected their self-sufficiency, burials, psychological and stigma problems and the social consequences of the loss of land.
2) Discuss the uniqueness of the Marshallese radiation language (from pages 107-108, especially). Describe this with some detail, and remember this is about the forms of this language and the wider historical context of its use.
3) How we might consider the Marshallese language a “language of resistance” that enables the Marshallese to negotiate their experiences with radiation, including blame, powerlessness, and reproductive abnormalities.
Remember to please be detailed


Solution
Marshallese Narrative of
History
Question 1
The Pacific atoll of Rongelap in the Marshal islands
continues to pay the price of a United States badly-managed nuclear test
explosion that took place about 40 years ago. Many people were displaced as a
result of the explosion and this irrevocably transformed the course of their
lives. Additionally, the final straw came a few months after the explosion were
exiled from Rongelap where they got information from the United States National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) that if they chose to return home they may have to
undergo significant changes in their lifestyles (Pollock et al. 302).
Moreover, instead of eating from the land, they were advised to instead
consider eating imported foods and apply special fertilizers in their farms to
help reduce the radioactivity levels in food crops that were indigenously
grown.
On March 1, 1954, Rongelap’s trails began when a strange
snowball was stopped drifting over the coral atoll. Many people enjoyed
watching the new occurrence but little did they know that the peculiar snow
they rejoiced about was a radioactive fallout of the detonated nuclear bomb
which took place in Bikini about 200 kilometers away. However, two days later
these people were evacuated from the area by American troops and since then the
people of Rongelap have been in Limbo state. After receiving treatment from
sicknesses caused by radiation reactions, most people were moved back to
Rongelap with the government assuring them that radioactivity effects were
within safe limits. Nonetheless, that was not the case considering that many
people suffered from cancer among other serious health problems which forced
them to leave atoll once more in 1985. They were rescued by an environmental
group known as Greenpeace which ferried them from the area with their ship,
Rainbow Warrior to a place known as Kwajalein, an area that was more densely
populated in the Marshall islands about 400 kilometers from Rongelap.
There were more than 1000 refugees from Romhelap in
Kwajalein and the limited resources and attachment to the place they had come
from made it hard for them to stay on. According to Marshall Officials, it was
evident that given a chance more than 500 people would consider going back to
their homeland if they got a chance to return home. They argue that they would
be set to return if the United States government assured them that
radioactivity levels have gone below 100 millirems above the background
radiation limits which were deemed rather stringent when compiling the NAS
report. Also, the islands raised serious questions on why they were sent back
to Rongelap so soon which seemed like a deliberate mistake to expose them to
the harmful effects of radioactivity. The suspicion was largely triggered by a
document that was released by Hazel O’Leary, the energy secretary under the
“openness initiative” department (Pollock et al. 303). According to Tonyde Brum,
Marshall Senator, those documents were proof that the nuclear explosion that
emitted radioactive contaminants into Rongelap was properly organized about
twelve months before the blast. Hence, considering the occurrence as an
accidental exposure has a high likelihood of depriving Rongelap islanders of
deserved compensation.
According to the then-American president Bill Clinton, the
advisory committee on experiments involving human radiation exposure there was
a need to decide on the right compensation to offer the explosion victims but
that may not take care of those that were accidentally exposed during nuclear
testing. However, if the affected people can prove that the way they got
exposed to these radioactive contaminants from the explosion was premeditated,
and therefore constituted a medical experiment, that is the only time that the
agony that the Rongelap islanders have lived with for almost fifty years can be
somewhat compensated by the government.
Question 2
The Marshall Islands is made up of
numerous atolls and isolated islands that are well-known for their aquatic life
and diving possibilities. The majority of the atolls are covered in a blanket
of jungle, hibiscus, and a variety of plumeria blooms. In addition, the island
is surrounded by more than 165 species of coral. It is estimated that the
Marshall Island republic consists of 29 atolls that spread over 800,000 square
miles and this part of the Pacific which was once considered remote radiation
and other serious threats such as cancer are not the only challenges facing the
island’s traditional arts (Pollock et al. 302). Notably, the current generation
of Marshall Islanders does not appreciate the songs that their ancestors
enjoyed, and instead they have embraced more modern sounds.
According to history, Marshallese
performed by chanting, stamping, and through body percussion. Other times,
playing of shell trumpets accompanied by singing, hourglass drums, and use of
concussion sticks. Additionally, telling stories as a form of oral tradition
was also important. It is said that composers of songs wrote tunes through the
help of their ancestors among other supernatural powers. Nuclear tests can be
described as a factor that helped unravel the cultural fabric of the
Marshallese people (Barker). Initially, Marshallese culture was frayed by
many years of German and Spanish rule, the annexation by the Japanese in the
1900s, and the era of American domination. In addition, the tradition of
writing songs in the Marshall Islands is a culture that has not only
experienced significant changes but it is also dying since there are very few
composers around today.
Question 3
The Marshallese language reflects the history and lived
experiences. These radiation survivors built a radiation language that help
provide clues regarding how the Marshallese life and culture have changed after
the nuclear weapons testing program. In addition, the use of language tends to
extend to the experiences of people that were directly linked to the weapon
testing to the community at large which is inclusive of the people born after
the explosion. Most people who were affected by these radioactivity
contaminations do not believe they have any power to have access to information
regarding their health and to influence the kind of decisions they make about
their medical care (Carucci). The United States government employed control of
information and treatment of patients as a way to retain its full authority in
accounting for the aftermath of the nuclear testing program.
Women and children in Marshal
experience numerous problems and burdens caused by exposure to radiation.
Stigmatization of the community makes it hard to express the issue of birth
abnormalities and shame that result from constant hiding rather than trying to
find ways to solve these anomalies (Barker). According to the linguistic data
available, the radiation populations employ Marshallese “resistance language”
and not English to easily convey blame, lack of power, and experiences of women
with reproductive abnormalities. The Marshallese insist on discussing radiation
and its aftermath in the Marshallese context even in situations when they have
to borrow some English words. Refusal to give up the Marshallese-speaking
context is a confirmation that these radiation populations formed a resistance
language to help them thwart the government's attempt to impose a post-testing
reality on the people.
Works Cited
Barker,
Holly M. Bravo for the Marshallese: regaining control in a
post-nuclear, post-colonial world. Cengage Learning, 2012.
Carucci,
Laurence Marshall. "Review of Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control
in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World, by Holly M Barker." (2004).
Pollock,
Nancy J. "Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-nuclear,
Post-colonial World [Book Review]." (2008): 301-303.



About Author
Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Essay Writers!
We have subject matter experts ready 24/7 to tackle your specific tasks and deliver them ON TIME, ready to hand in. Our writers have advanced degrees, and they know exactly what’s required to get you the best possible grade.
Find the right expert among 500+
We hire Gradewriters writers from different fields, thoroughly check their credentials, and put them through trials.
View all writers