Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine called Monday’s Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day “a sacred space for remembrance – a space where we pause to reflect upon the nuclear testing years from 1946 to 1958, and a space to rekindle our memory of those who had endured and suffered the consequences of 12 turbulent years that have left an indelible mark on our history.”
She said this year’s theme ‘Añin Jitbõn Mar’ — Spiritual calling from our islands — “calls upon each of us, as Marshallese, to uphold our commitment to carry on the advocacy and determination of those who came before us. Who is going to tell this story for us, if not us?”
The President listed a number of initiatives in progress that focus on the US nuclear test legacy.
- “As part of our commitment to preserving this history, the government is advancing a proposal to access Compact funding for the establishment of a nuclear museum, one that will preserve the truth of this legacy and ensure that future generations carry forward this history with knowledge, dignity, and purpose.”
- To increase knowledge of the current environmental conditions in affected atolls, Greenpeace International was invited by the government to undertake an independent scientific assessment of soil, sediment, and agricultural samples.
- In its capacity as Chair of the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific Task Force on Nuclear Issues, the RMI “is leading efforts to advance a Preliminary Independent Study on Nuclear Issues in the Pacific, which will encompass our own nuclear legacy as well as broader regional concerns.”
Heine concluded: “We remain hopeful that, through principled engagement with the United Nations and the United States of America, a path forward can be realized, one grounded in acknowledgement, accountability, and a shared commitment to justice.”
This year’s Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day ceremony in Majuro featured involvement of elementary and high school students highlighting petitions written by Marshall Islanders and delivered to the United Nations in opposition to the then-ongoing nuclear weapons testing program in 1954 and 1956.
“We’re moving away from bands singing to school singing, and making young Marshallese participate more,” said National Nuclear Commission Commissioner Alson Kelen.
Monday’s event at the Jenrok track and field included a parade, speeches and special presentations, including the one by students that featured names of Marshallese who wrote or signed the petitions to the UN.
“The older kids in the back read the petition, and of course the younger ones named the petitioners,” Kelen said. “These were the folks that signed the petition to stop the nuclear testing program.”