Exile destroyed the Bikinians’ self-sufficiency and dignity

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 a 3 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

• QUESTION: The 25,000 paid in one-dollar bills and 15 per person annual compensation figures raise questions about the total scale of this and parallel compensation schemes.