Mauatua Fa’ara-Reynolds (she/they)
CW: Nuclear Testing, Colonialism, Suicide, Henry Kissinger
Global imagery of the Pacific has long been plagued with belittling ideas of being 'remote' and 'small', or as Epeli Hau'ofa puts it, "islands in a far sea". This undermines our interconnectedness, autonomy, and agency, and renders us expendable in geopolitical security schemes. Throughout the 20th century, various nations used their colonies as testing sites for atomic experiments, leaving long-lasting impacts on island bodies (both human and non-human). We have never healed.
The US chose its overseas territory, the Marshall Islands, as the site of atomic tests because it was 'empty'. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said, of the resultant mass displacements, that there "are only 90,000 of them out there. Who gives a damn?". Fucking nuts, aye? Thank god he's dead. Nevertheless, there's this recurring theme in colonial projects, where these all-mighty metropolitan nations use their colonies as playgrounds to demonstrate their military supremacy and technological advancement. In doing so, they sacrifice indigenous peoples for 'the greater good', and any harm done to them or their land is just unfortunate collateral damage.
In the 1960s, my grandfather was conscripted by the French government to work with the Direction des Centres d'Expérimentation Nucléaire on the Mururoa Atoll of the Tuamotu archipelago. I don't know much about his time there (except for a few horrific stories), but he was inevitably exposed to nuclear waste, as were many of the other Mā’ohi workers. The impact of this lay dormant for decades until 2019 when he went blind in one eye, and awful ulcers started appearing all over his body. Luckily, he lived with his daughters and grandchildren, who helped keep him alive and happy until he passed away in 2021 from a heart condition most likely caused by his time in Mururoa. If you trace the whakapapa of my family's health issues (both physical and mental), you'll find a lot of it stems from nuclear testing. Unwillingly, we carry its ghosts. And so does our nation.
Our fenua (land) and ta'ata (people) have suffered, each feeding off the other. Radioactive fallout from the 190 tests conducted between 1966 and 1996 contaminated soil, crops, and marine life, each of which we rely on for our livelihoods. As a result, our people have one of the highest rates of thyroid cancer and myeloid leukaemia in the world. We experience unusually high rates of congenital disabilities, like limb deformities, heart defects, and neurological abnormalities. Around 42% of adults suffer from a mental health condition (often exacerbated by alcohol and drug abuse), and around 20% have attempted suicide. Tahiti may be a paradise for tourists, but for her inhabitants, it's a ticking time bomb, wondering when the ghost will awaken in you.
Part of the discourse surrounding disability is the whole notion of 'abnormality'; the idea that to have a body deviate from the perceived norm of 'health' and 'wellness' is 'abnormal'. And, especially in the case of the Marshall Islands, so-called 'abnormal' bodies are erased by hyper-sexual bodies, concealing horror with the allure of sex. The term for this: militourism, where a vibrant tourist industry is established to mask militarisation. This phenomenon is especially prevalent in Mā’ohi Nui, Hawai'i, Guåhan, and (until recently) Kanaky—nations still negotiating colonial relationships. The combination of military forces and tourism completely depletes these islands of natural resources, rendering the supposed 'utopian' landscape totally decrepit, and thus, the people too.
If Indigenous peoples already exist on the periphery, then disabled Indigenous peoples are totally out of the picture. I mean, can you think of any disabled Islanders? Can you picture a pretty Tahitian girl connected to an IV? Probably not, because this isn't what's advertised to the world. But you know about bikinis, though? You've seen one before, right? Well, the bikini was created by the French fashion designer Louis Reard to commemorate the achievements of World War ll (look it up if you don't believe me). Although a seemingly simple clothing item, it's laced with deep-rooted patriarchal and colonial ideologies, and since we're all familiar with it and not Bikini Atoll (its derivative), it's undeniable that the US weaponised the 'exotic' and 'dispensable' female body to conceal the devastating effects of nuclear testing and encourage the bikini's marketing and mass production—bringing sexualised White female bodies to the forefront, and pushing Brown nuclear-ridden bodies into the background.
One of the most recent examples of using island resources to the detriment of Indigenous peoples is the 2024 Surfing Olympics, which were held at Teahupo'o, a small village in Tahiti. The Olympic Organising Committee declared the pre-existing wooden judging tower unfit for the event, and built an aluminium judging tower. This necessitated drilling holes into the coral, and sending barges out to carry construction materials. However, in doing so, they've destroyed all the coral heads. When stress like this is inflicted onto marine life, it often spreads ciguatera (where microscopic algae infect fish, and if eaten, can make people extremely sick). It should be noted that Teahupo'o is also a town of fishermen who rely on the fish from the area for income and meals.
The exploitation of indigenous lands and peoples continues; the cycle repeats itself. In the upcoming years, we should watch the people of Teahupo'o, monitoring their health and well-being. We can not let this cycle repeat itself again. We can not continue disabling Island bodies for 'the greater good'. Our health is for the greater good. Our survival is for the greater good.