Page 25 - IB May 2021

“The cry of our sisters and brothers from the northern Pa-
Wayne Kijiner- Marshall Islands cific is echoed in the east, in the west and reverberates over
the coral atolls and up to the highlands.”
Student Association President Kijiner says partnerships such as these have been incredibly
impotant for mutual understanding and support.
“I had learned about Marshalls’ history at high school. But
to my surprise, coming to Fiji, I had never heard of French
Polynesia’s nuclear testing programs and Christmas Island’s,
The University of the South Pacific has a proud history of and other Pacific regions used for testing grounds. This was
student activism. ATOM (Against Testing on Moruroa) formed new to me. And I was very surprised to hear about it. So my
in Fiji in 1970, and many of its founding members were USP thinking was, so if I don’t know about their history, what are
students and academics. In 1975, ATOM organised the first the chances here that they know about my history?”
Nuclear Free Pacific Conference, and the Nuclear Free and Coming to Fiji was a “huge culture shock” Kijiner says. “I
Independent Pacific group was born. can see a lot of similarities, but there’s also a lot of differ-
Fast forward almost 50 years and nuclear legacy issues have ences as well. I realised that, despite those differences,
seen a resurgence in the Pacific. those similarities are much stronger; the fact that we’re all
Pressure has intensified in French Polynesia to make connected by the same ocean, that blows my mind, and Fiji’s
compensation available to more people exposed to radiation colonial history and also Marshalls’ colonial history.
during French nuclear testing there. The Treaty on the Prohi- “In my view, it is very important to keep regional solidar-
bition of Nuclear Weapons finally entered into force this year. ity. Being Pacific Islanders, going to the international global
And the Pacific has joined in condemning recently-announced political stage, solidarity plays a huge role when we’re talking
Japanese plans to discharge one million tons of wastewater about issues we’re facing in the region.
from its Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) at the Fu- “Having strong voices, standing up together, and raising our
kushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the Pacific Ocean. concern to the international community, or the global politics,
Amidst this, a new generation of student activists have it shows a stronger stance.”
taken up the mantle, raising awareness amongst their fellow Similarly, he believes in the power and importance of stu-
students. dent activism.
Wayne Kijiner is the current president of the Marshall “I think being the younger generation and the upcoming
Islands Student Association (MISA), an organisation of Marshal- leaders in the region, it is vital that students are involved in
lese students based at USP and the Fiji National University, these issues, because in the end, we’re going to inherit these
who are working to raise solidarity around nuclear and other issues if they’re not resolved now. And not just that, but we
environmental issues amongst their peers. have to have a say in our future as well.”
First established in 2017, MISA4 the Pacific held its first MISA has been running a strong awareness campaign around
on-campus solidarity march in 2019. “Since then we’ve been the Runit dome. The concrete dome caps contaminated soil
engaged with students and we’ve grown in numbers over the and debris left from the US nuclear test program between
years. So that’s something we’re very proud of,” Kijiner says. 1948 and 1958 on Enewetak and Bikini Atolls. There are
Most young Marshallese head north, to the United States, to concerns the dome is now leaking; a 2013 US Department
do their tertiary studies. But Kijiner, who grew up on Likiep of Energy report found that soil around the dome was more
atoll, had done his foundation year at the USP’s Majuro cam- contaminated than its contents.
pus, and at the suggestion of his lecturers, headed south, to “The way we see it, that dome is a ticking time bomb,”
Fiji, to do his studies in electronics engineering. says Kijiner. “We want the US to clean it up. That’s all we ask.
He was elected to head MISA this year, and says while COVID The risk of having that radioactive material going back into
and the disruptions to academic and campus life have been the ocean, we feel like it’s very high, it’s barely two meters
tough, he has learnt from his predecessors at MISA. “Taking on above water with continuing sea level rise.”
the role this year, it was really easy because I had their sup- One of MISA’s campaign themes is “My fish is your fish”.
port, the history that I learned from them, why we’re doing “[It’s] the concept that we’re all connected by the ocean,
what we do, and especially support from other students here that my fish is your fish,” says Kijiner. “Our views on nuclear
at USP.” legacy and climate is that these are basically two sides of the
MISA has strong partnerships with other Fiji-based organi- same coin. So, if for us, if climate change continues to occur,
sations, which has helped it amplify its voice and issues. A that will have severe effects on Runit dome, which is filled
now-annual event on March 1 to mark Nuclear Survivors’ Day with all this radioactve waste from the testing.
is well supported by organisations such as the Pacific Council “If that dome ever comes undone, we say that none of us,
of Churches, Youngsolwara, the USP Students Association and not one of us is safe in the Pacific, being that we’re all con-
the Pacific Network on Globalisation. nected by the ocean.”
The day honours the victims and survivors of nuclear test- Kijiner is due to finish his degree this year and return to the
ing in the Marshall Islands in the 1950s. In a prayer at this Marshall Islands, where he hopes to be able to use his quali-
year’s event which had the theme “We are not alone”, Pacific fications to work in the energy sector. He says while COVID
Conference of Churches Secretary General, Reverend James and restrictions have made it a tough year, “a long time inside
Bhagwan said: “While superpowers played their nuclear chess the rooms and inside our halls of residence”, it has taught
to a stalemate, the first people and sacred places of our him resilience. He is excited about going home, but plans to
Pacific were pawns, sacrificed and discarded - in the Marshall remain active in the important environmental and humani-
Islands, Kiribati, Maohi Nui and Australia. tarians issues he has been engaged with while at university,
“Today we join our hearts as wansolwara, one people of the while passing on the baton to the student leaders that come
salt water called Pacific, which has seen the most violence after him.
humans can inflict, through atomic and nuclear tests.

Islands Business, May 2021 25