Journal 11/27/1987
P3 Suicides top all diseases as leading killer in Marshalls
The Marshalls suicide problem, reported earlier in the year to be at an all time high, continues to spiral out of control. Through this week, 19 young people had committed suicide during 1987 — seven more than 1982 when suicides reached their peak and then began a gradual drop off until the sudden turn around this year. The Marshals was averaging five suicides a year since 1980 until this year. The numbers are so high that the Mental Health office reports that suicides have killed more people than any single illness in the Marshall Islands, surpassing deaths caused by malnutrition, TB, pneumonia and diabetes.
P6 Congratulations
Marshalls Community Action Agency Deputy Director Kal Jinuna and Restaurant Training Instructor Marita Edwin joined Majuro restaurant supervisors at the end of their two-week training: Kinne Lokeijak, Eastern Gateway; Christina Capelle, Stacy’s; Elbod Bohanny and Neile Doctor, Likrok; Hemien Kattil, hospital; and Herty Robert, Yacht Club.
P18 Speculation discounted
An elderly man sporting a trendy head of pepper-gray hair and portly mid-section was observed recently in Uliga uncreating a new to Majuro press machine. The new top-of-the-line press will be used only for numbering, he claims, discounting the speculation that the engraved metal plates made out in various demonstrations of currency have anything to do with the new acquisition.
P19 Home away from home
A home away from home is what Hashmet Moghaddam has found in the Marshall Islands. The first Iranian to become a Marshallese citizen, he was naturalized in October. “It’s a privilege to become part of the Pacific,” he said. “I am thankful for Marshall Islands citizenship. He first visited the Marshalls in early 1982. During his brief stay he met his future wife, Rosina Jello. Coincidentally, he noted that “Jello” is a Persian word meaning “front” and that his last name, Moghaddam, is an Arabic word that also means “front.”
Journal 11/26/1999
P3 Families harassed by adoption agents
Concerns about Marshallese mothers being exploited by American adoption agencies have been raised by the RMI Adoption Task Force. “One of the greatest concerns regarding adoption practices is the harassment of families for their children,” the report states.
P7 Interesting cargo
When we heard there were 199 guests arriving on a flight from South America Wednesday, our ears perked up. Our first thought was that it would make Ben Graham over at the visitors authority happy to have some more tourists arriving. It turned out our thought about Ben was misplaced as the “visitors” were not the human variety. A DC8 cargo flight arrived from Chile for refueling and when the Continental ground crew opened up the doors, the first they did was grab their noses. Ugh, what a smell. The plane was transporting 199 llamas from South America to Japan and it smelled just like you’d expect a barn to smell. Our guys got to see their first llamas and then bid the plane on its way.
Journal 11/26/2010
P3 WUTMI praised on voting
The 2007 general election saw a 21 percent increase in women voters because of efforts by Women United Together Marshall Islands, according to Kimberly Cullen of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. WUTMI is recognized as a model for the Pacific region, with observers from the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Swedish Embassy being in Majuro this week to observe WUTMI’s twelfth annual executive board meeting. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the four-day conference on Tuesday, Cullen highlighted WUTMI’s successes and added that the organization is a “good model to be used across the Pacific.”
P15 Leroij Atama
Monday afternoon, thousands of people honored the late Leroij Atama Zedkaia during a state funeral at the Nitijela, and later at the Assembly of God Church in Delap. A sea of black clad family members and friends marched in a solemn procession behind flag-carrying National Police and Majuro Atoll Local Government Police and a hearse carrying the late leroij’s remains from Majuro hospital to the Nitijela Chamber.