Documentary indictment of nuclear powers

Press, 29 April 1987, Page 18

Documentary indictment of nuclear powers

An award-winning documentary about nuclear testing in the Pacific and the sabotage of the Rainbow Warrior will screen on “Tagata Pasifika,” on Saturday at 11 a.m. on Two. “Nuclear Exodus” tells bow the Rongelap islanders in the mid-Paci-fic were severely contaminated by radiation in 1954 and evacuated three decades later by the peace ship to Mejato Island, 150 km away. Many of the islanders remember March 1, 1954 as the day it “snowed" on the atoll, as deadly fallout dusted them from a 15 megaton thermonuclear test, codenamed Bravo, on Bikini atoll.

Since then the Rongelap people have suffered from leukaemia, cancers, thyroid tumours, miscarriages, stillbirths, deformed children and

births described as “jellyfish” babies. One noted American researcher has predicted that all children on the atoll aged under 10 when contaminated would die from cancer. The islanders have been described aS. the first victims of the Third World War.

Scripted by Pacific affairs writer David Robie, the documentary is a damning indictment of the nuclear powers. It won a 1986 Media Peace Prize citation. Robie, the author of “Eye of Fire,” one of several journalists on board the Rainbow Warrior to cover the tragic exodus. He was awarded the 1985 Media Peace Prize for his coverage.

“United States authorities claim the fallout on the unsuspecting islanders was an accident because of a sudden change in the

wind direction,” Robie says. “But I have documents gained under the freedom of information legislation which reject this claim.”

“An official government report reveals authorities knew six hours before the blast that weather briefings had indicated winds at 6000 metres were heading for Rongelap. And still the bomb was triggered.

“The authorities delib+ erately allowed the islanders to be contaminated. Then they failed to evacuate them from their atoll until almost three days after the fallout has poisoned them, their food and water supplies.” Ironically, the islanders now live on Mejato, at the western tip of the vast Kwajalein atoll where the United States has a mis-sile-testing .range and research centre for Star Wars.

They, are waiting for an independent radiological survey which will investigate their health and advise them when they can return to Rongelap — if they ever can.

“Nuclear Exodus” is based on stills by the photographers Fernando

Pereira — who died during the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior — Giff gJohnson, Gil Hanly, John Miller and David Robie. The music is by the Well-

ington guitarist Kevin Watson and the Vanuatu string band, with narration by Foufou Susuna Hukui of Niue, and Nathaniel Lees of Samoa,