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In opening remarks, Rev. Dr Karen Georgia Thompson, president of the US United Church of Christ and a member of the WCC central and executive committees, expressed the WCC’s ongoing commitment is to continue to journey with the Marshall Islands in the quest for justice and compensation.
“Our voices are important,” said Thompson. “Change is possible and we must continue to advocate for the changes we want to see with you and with all who reside in the Marshall Islands.”
Benetick Kabua Maddison, executive director of the Marshallese Educational Initiative, shared that, in the last three years while traveling the world to raise awareness about the harmful effects of nuclear testing to the Marshallese people, he has lost three loved ones. “Nuclear-related health issues are intergenerational,” he said, yet he added: "The Marshallese story is also one of resilience and determination.”
Rev. James Bhagwan, general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, noted that the 470 tests that took place in the Pacific in the 50 years following the end of World War Two “were the equivalent to 9,010 Hiroshima bombs.”Today, nuclear-related waste continues to leak into portions of the Pacific—“food source of the region and fishing ground of the world,” he said.
Keynote speaker Sen. David Anitok, Marshall Islands presidential envoy for Nuclear Justice and Human Rights, underscored the importance of a UN resolution that affirms the importance of addressing the adverse impact of the nuclear legacy on the realization and enjoyment of human rights. “It is quite significant for us as a people and us as a nation,” he said, adding that the pursuit of justice is not meant to cause more harm but is done “for the victims and survivors.”
The photo exhibition is cohosted by the World Council of Churches and the Permanent Mission of the Marshall Islands in Geneva. It is part of the ongoing commemoration for National Day of Remembrance, 1 March, a national holiday in the Marshall Islands that honors victims and survivors of nuclear testing done in the area in the 1950s. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the largest US nuclear test detonation, Castle Bravo, which took place over Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
