Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World
A glimpse of the book’s foreword reveals that this work is a case study that aims to analyze the issues that have social importance in relation to the historical, geographical and cultural aspect. It claims to provide a comparative analysis that underscores the impact of globalization, both locally and in a more massive scale. It boils down to having anthropological scholars works towards demonstrating how their investigations may lead, not only in building knowledge about human societies, but also in encouraging community empowerment, conflict resolutions and the achieving social justice (Baker, ix). Accordingly, this case study provides a description of the role played by anthropologist in order to help Marshallese communities to gain comprehension of the impact of exposure to radiation, both to themselves and the environment.
In fact, the dominating themes in Barker’s Bravo for the Marshallese, focused largely on applied anthropology and the socio-political concerns that arise along with the force of colonialism. It raised concerns on the supposed accountability of the US government and its negotiators, and more specifically about the Marshall Islanders’ whose responses are vital for this case study. The author skillfully describes the anthropological setting of the Marshallese as she described the region's history, geography, as well as its social and political organization in the early chapters. She eventually integrated how the US was able to get its foot in the region to implement its nuclear testing scheme.
It is to be noted that the US started to set off a nuclear bomb on Bikini Atoll on July 1, 1946, which initiated a series of 68 more nuclear detonations in the region for the next 12 years (Hanlon, 186). In Bravo for the Marshallese, the author expressed how the government of the US took a limited responsibility and concern over the problems that their nuclear testing brought in the Marshall region. Yet, in the beginning, the superpower took considerable time to evaluate how the region suits its nuclear testing program.
When the US bodies decided to exploit the islands for nuclear testing, they apparently reasoned the barrenness and remoteness of the region from the United States. There was an utter disregard of the health and well being of the population within the area. Research revealed that “when the radioactive ash fell on islands inhabited by Marshallese people, they inhaled radiation into their lungs” (Barker, 24). Accordingly, the use of ethnographic and archival research, as well as life narratives allows the author to develop an absorbing history about the testing program founded on the Marshallese perspective.
It is really appalling to know that when the US decided to conduct smaller tests, the evacuated the Marshallese as a precautionary measure, yet they failed to evacuate them when it was time for them to detonate the largest thermonuclear weapon. Moreover, reports about the circumstances and effects of the detonation were falsified. A public statement from the Atomic Energy Commission stated that the detonation of the Bravo did not result in any burns and all the residents were reported to be well (Dibblin, 58). The people of Marshall Islands did not only suffer from burns, but other serious consequences to their health that would last for many more decades. This is because their health and their environment were exposed to extreme radiation. However, the US government used a narrowing scheme that limited their liability by classifying the people into exposed and unexposed to radiation. This is an interesting part of Barker’s presentation, such that the US government was able to get away from a large part of its responsibility by using the legality of classifying the areas that are exposed and unexposed. Based on the study provided by the US government, the classification leads to a limited obligation on their part as they were only inclined to pay those that they considered to be affected by the detonation.
I liked how Barker exposed that the classification is a neat scheme that narrowed the responsibility of the United States. It allows for an opportunity for the author to show just how the US government cleverly used terminologies to escape from its obligation. While the ‘unexposed’ people suffered from serious health consequences because of their exposure to radiation, their case was dismissed showing the unethical practice of US institutions that wanted to get away from the consequence of their own doing. The data and other information gathered about the Marshallese in relation to the nuclear detonation in their can speak for themselves without having to go for an indepth consideration. However, I think that Barker could have strengthened her argument by going deeper into the legality of categorizing the Marshall Island in two. She could have questioned the validity of using two categories when in fact the regions were exposed to an equal degree of radiation.
While the Marshallese suffered from the effects of the nuclear detonation for many years, they were not able to get the proper attention for being exposed to such treatment. Barker used this case study to call for the predicament of the people in the Marshall Island. In reading through the case study, I believed that Barker’s intent was to call for the concerned government, and organizations to take a look at the case of the Marshallese. It is a self-sacrificing effort on her part to want to cause a change in the lives of these people who were made to suffer by another country’s ambition to get ahead from the others.
In this book, one case see how the United States diverted its detonation plans to other regions, far from its territory and its people. Readers may find that the case study is a presentation of human and environmental injustice that is initiated because of one nation’s want to experiment with what it refers as a brilliant discovery. It is saddening how one country wanted the safety of its people, while thinking that the lives of the people in another region are not as important. The story of the Marshallese in relation to the nuclear testing of the US is a painful one, and what is more agonizing is that their sufferings were largely overlooked. Readers of this book may wonder who were the signatories and participants of the detonation experiments, and how can they have the will to allow this cold-hearted experiment to happen.
Works Cited
Barker, Holly. Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear Post-Colonial World. Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Dibblin, Jane. Day of Two Sons: US Nuclear Testing and the Pacific Islands. Rowman & Littlefield, 1990. Print.
Hanlon, David. Remaking Micronesia: Discourses Over Development in a Pacific Territory, 1994-1982. University of Hawaii Press, 1998. Print.
