GIFF JOHNSON
The Rongelap community, local government leadership, national RMI government leaders, traditional and religious leaders turned out to provide a warm welcome Tuesday at Uliga Dock for the arrival of Greenpeace’s flagship Rainbow Warrior III.
The vessel was greeted by three outrigger canoes from Waan Aelon in Majel as it approached Uliga Dock. Then, as the crew debarked to the dock, the Rongelap community serenaded them, putting leis on each.
“We were displaced, our lives were disrupted, and our voices ignored,” said Minister Hilton Kendall, who represents Rongelap in the parliament. “In our darkest time, Greenpeace stood with us.” He said the Rainbow Warrior “evacuated the people to safety” in 1985. Greenpeace will “forever be remembered by the people of Rongelap.”
Environment Minister Bremity Lakjohn summarized the situation that led to the 1985 relocation. Speaking on behalf of acting president Ota Kisino, who was at the welcome ceremony, Lakjohn said: “For 28 years, the people of Rongelap endured the consequences and the evidence of radioactive poisoning grew as generations suffered from miscarriages, birth defects, and thyroid tumors. By 1985, their suffering could no longer be ignored and in a moment of courage and defiance, Rongelap Senator late Jetoñ Anjain sought international support and with Greenpeace, organized a safe evacuation of the community to nearby Mejatto island in Kwajalein Atoll.”
Minister Bremity said Greenpeace’s 1985 “act of compassion and defiance” in helping Rongelap people and highlighting the nuclear injustice in the Pacific came “at great cost,” as the Rainbow Warrior was bombed in New Zealand a few weeks after assisting Rongelap. “But what they failed to destroy was the spirit of the movement,” he said. “The legacy of the Rainbow Warrior lives on in the continued fight for nuclear justice, environment protection and human rights.” He said the Greenpeace flagship represented a “legacy of solidarity.”
The Rainbow Warrior will be in Majuro until next week when it will depart for Mejatto Island and other atolls around RMI. This Saturday will feature an “open boat” program for local residents to visit the vessel at Uliga Dock.
Joining the vessel and crew in Majuro are Henk Haazen and Ann “Bunny” McDiarmid who are the only two here from the original Rainbow Warrior crew that facilitated the evacuation of Rongelap. The 1985 visit on the Warrior was the first of many of their visits, as the initial evacuation resulted in life-long links for both Henk and Bunny with the Rongelap community.
They arrived in Majuro last weekend to be on hand for the visit of the Rainbow Warrior this week and will join the vessel on its trip to Mejatto next week.