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Review Of ' Bravo For The Marshallese '

Decent Essays

Pachee Vang
ANTH 3800
Exam 1 Essay
Bravo for the Marshallese The Marshall Islands has always been that of a peaceful paradise for the Marshallese; that is to say before it was irradiated by nuclear bomb testing by its very own trust partners the United States. The Marshallese thought that giving up their island would help bring peace to the world and since most of the population was converted into Christianity, they were led to believe that they were doing a favor as “Judas’s children”. What they didn’t know was that for the next 12 years, their precious islands were to become the test site of hazardous atomic bomb testing that would change their life and history forever. What was first contentment turned into concealed resentment towards their only source of support. The population that was most affected by the radiation was perhaps the Rongelapese of the Rongelap Atoll. In the perspective of the Marshallese, land is not just something where you inhabit, it is the “essence of life” (Barker, 61). The Marshallese people’s culture and existence come from their land. Without the land, they could not carry on their traditional roles. The Marshall Islands is primarily matrilineal meaning that women own land and pass it on to their next generation. The land is where daughters learn from their mothers how to weave and create crafts while sons learn how to fish and navigate from their fathers. But with the evacuation from their homeland, parents could not pass on their knowledge

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