2025 marks the 40th year anniversary of 'Operation Exodus'- when the people of Rongelap in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) were forced to leave their ancestral home as a result of the US government's nuclear testing in the region. Between 1946 to 1958, 67 nuclear bombs were detonated on the RMI.
In May 1985, answering the community's request, Greenpeace assisted in this historic mass relocation, using the Rainbow Warrior to carry every person, their belongings and even their actual homes to the Mejato and Ebeye islands in Kwajalein Atoll. This relocation, while a profound loss, represented a chance to live free of toxic radiation, but the impacts and trauma have been everlasting and carried through to generations.
International climate negotiations just got dirty, even if the final stage hasn’t started. Australia and New Zealand’s corrupt and underhanded means of getting their way inside the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) carries the stench of colonialism. It is no secret that in this fora they continue to use their small contributions to our poor countries…