Blown to Hell: America's Deadly Betrayal of the Marshall Islanders by Walter Pincus tells an all too familiar story of the American government entering into an agreement with indigenous people that it does not abide by, nor rectify adequately.
The US government exploded 67 atomic and hydrogen bombs over the Marshall Islands. In the years that followed, a typical tragedy unfolded. Marshall Islanders were lied to, displaced, exposed to radiation, studied without consent, became wards of the government that persecuted them.
And it continues. There is a story from 2016 about the amazing recovery of sea life at Bikini Atoll where many of the tests took place, including the deadly Castle Bravo shot. After leaving the island alone for over forty years, nature was healing itself without our help. But that has changed recently. With the warming of the world’s ocean, the atoll has seen massive fish die-offs and coral bleaching.
We are a sad, shortsighted, destructive species.
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