Journal 7/30/1982
P1 US moves to prevent Marshalls holding vote on Compact
The United States has withdrawn its support for an August 17 plebiscite in the Marshall Islands to approve or reject the Compact of Free Association. US Ambassador Fred Zeder notified Marshall Islands Foreign Secretary Tony deBrum of the cancellation at a meeting in Honolulu last week. Zeder also said that when the plebiscite is held, at some unspecified time, the choice of independence will not be offered to Marshallese voters. Since the timing of the plebiscite and the choices on the ballot are subject to mutual agreement by the two governments, the US action effectively ends all hope for termination of the trusteeship this year. To be certain that the Marshall Islands government cannot proceed unilaterally with the plebiscite, Zeder informed deBrum that the US, imposing its trusteeship authority, has suspended Marshallese election laws and refuses to release its share of funding for the plebiscite education program. Secretary deBrum call these actions “arrogant and dictatorial,” and said: “We are now forced to question whether or not the United States has been dealing with us in good faith during the last two months of Compact negotiations.”
Journal 8/2/1991
P1 UES fails to impress
John MacDonald, US Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, expressed shock and disgust today during a tour of Uliga Elementary School. MacDonald came to Majuro as a participant in this week’s Pacific Regional Educators Laboratory conference. He was accompanied on his tour of the school by Education Secretary Marie Maddison and College of the Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine-Jetnil. UES Acting Principal Valentino Anuntak opened the main entrance by prying off the two-by-four lumber which is used to close the building during off-hours. MacDonald found the undersized plywood structure to be “terrible conditions for kids or teachers to endure.” The 350 students have two toilets. There are no water fountains, no dining areas, no fire extinguishers. Nearly every tile on the floor is broken, the roof leaks and the dilapidated plywood walls are in need of cleaning and painting. Children’s meals are dispensed from a filthy plywood shack next to the drainage ditch where the childen are forced to urinate and defecate between classes (for lack of toilets).
P3 Suicide attempts up
The number of reported suicide attempts went up dramatically last year, but health officials say instead of being a bad sign this demonstrates that family members and friends are intervening to prevent young Marshallese from taking their own lives. Still, a large number of Marshallese men continue to kill themselves each year and, for the first time, several young women attempted suicide in 1990. After an all-time high of 22 completed suicides in 1987, the numbers dropped to 11 and 12 the following two years. But suicides leaped again year to at least 17. Suicides tend to come in clusters. Last December on Ebeye, one young man hanged himself. Within days, three other youth followed his lead.
Journal 8/5/2011
P1 KALGov waste pickup: Like clockwork
The sewer system hasn’t worked for years and there are issues with the dump and fresh water supply. But when it comes to garbage collection on Ebeye Island, the Kwajalein Atoll Local Government waste team has maintained a steady collection for many years, drawing recognition from a visiting US Army Corps of Engineers team.