(04 July 87) Colonel Chapman declared an open house on Kwajalein Island for all Marshallese, including the 10,000 living on Ebeye. No badge checks were made but everyone had to process through DSC. The Tarlang, a large capacity ferry boat, was enlisted to help transport people between the two islands. America’s Independence Day celebration included speeches, food, drinks and entertainment. Just like home, except there was no fireworks.
The boats began arriving early, packed with Marshallese. Many wore T-shirts with the American flag on the front. Others waved tiny American flags as they fanned out over Kwajalein. The islanders literally made themselves at home. Their idea of community property is “what’s yours is mine to use.” This caused a few misunderstandings and complaints.
One of the problems was bicycles. The Marshallese, both adults and children, borrowed the bikes to make travel a little easier. One bike could have passed through a dozen people before the day ended. Young Marshallesse walked through the housing area and into homes uninvited. Public intoxication, though, didn’t amount to much. Click on image to enlarge.
In one incident that I witnessed, three Marshallese boys sat on the rear bumper of an ambulance and dragged their feet as the vehicle proceeded down the dirt road which connects Emon Beach with DSC. The driver didn’t realize that they had hitched a ride or that they had fallen off when the ambulance hit a pothole.
I stood next to the gate at Echo Pier late in the afternoon. The pier was packed with people waiting to crowd onto the ferries. Two young boys were looking up at me through the fence. I asked them if they had a good time. They shook their heads yes as they pressed against the wire.
They told me they wanted to stay here. When I asked them why, one of the boys said, “Kwajalein emon, Ebeye nana.”
Translation: Kwajalein good. Ebeye bad.”
Which brings up a news article from yesterday:
The suicide toll has risen to ten this year although the cause of one remains in question. The Marshall Islands Journal came out with a strong editorial July 3rd condemning these acts. According to the paper:
“At the same time that the community must respond to real social difficulties lying at the root of the suicide outbreak, people should be expressing in the strongest terms possible their disgust for individuals who take their own lives.”
The editorial concluded that “an epidemic of suicides is not curable with a shot of penicillin; community action is the only prescription for this illness.”
Filed under: Almost Paradise Volume 2
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