In the spirit of the Barbenheimer craze (Barbie and Openheimer), but more importantly in remembrance of 78th anniversary of dropping of Openheimer’s destructive atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, I would like to offer Bikiniheimer. Lest we forget, only a year after Hiroshima, the United States government made the unilateral decision to conduct nuclear tests in the Pacific Island nation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) particularly on Bikini and Eniwetok atolls. From 1946 to 1958, the US detonated 67 atmospheric nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. According to this article by Sally Clark in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,
“Between 1946 and 1958, the Marshall Islands region was the site of the testing of nuclear weapons equivalent to the explosive power of 1.6 Hiroshima bombs every day for 12 years—67 in all at the Bikini and Enewetak atolls—a fact that is impossible for me to comprehend.”
Yes and no, the same bikini…beach outfit worn by Barbie and countless women. Did you know that bikini was unjustly named after Bikini Island by a clothing marketer after witnessing scantily clothed American women who were servicing military personnel on Bikini Islands as they prepared the islands for the nuclear tests? Bikini & Openheimer…Bikiniheimer.
As you enjoy the message of women liberation in Barbie and the drama about Openheimer’s atomic bomb creation, I implore you to also take time to reflect on the plight of the Marshallese people who continue to suffer from the US legacy of nuclear testing on their islands. The Marshallese people were displaced by the military forces. Now they continue to fight for justice, advocate for healthcare and education for their children, face discrimination in the US, and continue to suffer as nuclear refugees because their islands are still too radioactive.
Bikiniheimer is relevant because the United States government is currently renegotiating the economic provisions of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the RMI, the Republic of Palau, and my own country of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). As of today, only the RMI treaty is still in limbo because the US cannot agree to the terms of financial reparation for the destructive nuclear legacy of the US in the Marshall Islands. I applaud the Biden / Harris Administration for their diligent support of the COFA nations, but I hope they and the US Congress do the right thing by the Marshallese people.
Please take time to view these important documentaries to round out your Bikiniheimer experience. And if you are moved to do so, please contact your representatives in the US Congress to advocate for the timely and positive conclusions of these compact renegotiations particularly for the Marshallese people.
Documentaries:
- The Forgotten Nuclear War: Bombs on Bikini Atoll
- Operation Castle: The Untold Tragedy of Bikini Atoll
- Radio Bikini
Relevant readings:
- “Nucelar Tragedy in the Marshall Islands” – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- “Marshall Islands” – Atomic Heritage Foundation
- “Compacts of Free Assocation” – Congressional Research Service
- “No Time to Lose: Renew the Compacts of Free Association” – East-West Center
