(20 Dec.86) Today is the second day of the open house on Kwaj. Macy’s, Macy’s West and the TenTen store have opened their doors to the residents of Ebeye in the spirit of Christmas. Extra boats will be making the run between the two islands today. Dock Security will allow most goods through the checkpoint, except for alcohol and other items on the official restricted list. A number of Marshallese will bring the alcohol through in their systems. Police officers who ride escort on the ferry boats hope that the waves on the lagoon are gentile.
Once the boat is underway it seems that every bench seat has a card game in progress. If we’re lucky, no one gets sick from a combination of waves and brew. When someone finishes a beer, or anything for that matter, the container is promptly tossed overboard. I’ve seen a highway of flotsam and jetsam on the three-mile stretch between islands. Littering is a major problem throughout the Marshalls.
As a result, the Marshall Islands government and the Marshall Islands Journal have tried to solve this problem through education, enforcement of pollution laws, editorials and contests. The contests, sponsored by the MALGOV (government), are aimed at children under twelve and offer twenty-five dollars to the child who can produce the best slogan in response to a litter problem.
An example in the November 28th issue of The Journal reads:
“Write what is the best thing to say when your mother tells you to throw pampers or trash on the beach.”
Pampers are always mentioned whenever pollution is discussed because of their popularity with Marshallese mothers. The problem? There is no place to dispose of used Pampers and they usually end up on the beach. Fish and turtles ingest the Pampers and die while discarded Pampers cause severe health problems among children who play on the beach and in the water. There is a dump at the north end of Ebeye where fires are burning the garbage of the modern world and the ghetto smell of smoke drifts across the island. There is plenty of money on the island but no where to live. It certainly isn’t photogenic.
This is just one of the big problems that are having a negative effect on the Marshallese people as their old culture is passing away and they have nothing to replace it, nothing that can revive the unity that they once had as a people.
Filed under: Almost Paradise Volume 2
Trackback Uri
