Political Quotes

“this act would authorize a one-time 3 percent distribution from the resettlement fund for the people of Bikini established by Congress in 1982 for relocation and resettlement assistance primarily for the remaining senior citizens of Bikini Atoll. The odyssey of the Bikini people is a very sad one, indeed. They were moved off their atoll in March of 1946 by the U.S. Navy to facilitate the U.S. nuclear testing program. They were first moved to Rongerik, an uninhabited atoll some 100 miles east of Bikini. Naval officials stated that Rongerik was bigger and richer than Bikini, but it turned out that the move was ill-conceived and poorly planned. Contrary to the Navy's assertions, Rongerik's land area is one-quarter of the size of Bikini, and its life-sustaining pandanus and coconut trees were considerably less productive than those of Bikini. The situation on Rongerik steadily deteriorated over the next 2 years. In July of 1947, a medical officer who visited the atoll reported that the Bikinians were visibly suffering from malnutrition. Several sites for another relocation were explored, but none proved satisfactory. However, when a Navy physician examined the Bikinians in March of 1948 and found them to be a starving people, emergency measures were called for and the Bikinians were immediately evacuated to the Navy base at Kwajalein Atoll.”