Displacement from Bikini destroyed the Bikinians’ self-sufficiency
Evidence
By 1948, the Bikinians on Rongerik were running out of food and suffering from malnutrition. After planning to move them to Ujelang Atoll, the Navy sent them to a temporary camp on Kwajalein Island, near a major U.S. base. Later that year, the Navy moved the islanders to a new permanent home on Kili Island. By 1952, as conditions again deteriorated, the government was forced to make an emergency food drop on Kili. Four years later, the United States paid the Bikinians
25,000—in one-dollar bills—and created a3 million trust fund making annual payments. These totaled about $15 per person. “The Bikinians were completely self-sufficient before 1946,” explains Weisgall, “but after years of exile they virtually lost the will to provide for themselves.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 193
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- QUESTION: The $15-per-person payment raises questions about how compensation for displaced base populations was set and whether it was ever adequate.
Related
- Exile destroyed the Bikinians’ self-sufficiency; compensation was about $15 per person. (similarity 0.95)
- Exile destroyed the Bikinians’ self-sufficiency and dignity (similarity 0.92)
- The Bikinians’ relocation was executed hastily and catastrophically planned (similarity 0.81)
- The Bikini islanders were displaced with no real choice in the matter (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- The Bikinians’ relocation to Rongerik was a disastrously planned mistake
#corroborates(0.80) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 192