November, 2017: While filming for the story on the nuclear waste dump in the Marshall Islands, the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent team of Mark Willacy, Greg Nelson, and Ben Hawke amassed more visuals than they could use in the episode. So here, for your viewing pleasure today, is a compilation of the best shots they captured from their time in the Micronesian string of islands entitled ‘Marshall Islands From Above’.
And now watch the whole episode, A Poison in My Island:Follows is the back story about the ABC team’s time in the Marshall Islands:
Surviving Snoring and Spam
Mark Willacy on assignment in the Marshall Islands for the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Foreign Correspondent
Fine dining in Enewetak. Photo Mark Willacy
It was certainly not a diet conducive to a harmonious and flatulence-free household, especially for three grown men in such close quarters. Stacked before us in our kitchen cupboard were towers of baked beans, hearty beef stew, spicy tuna, hot chili beans, and the national dish of the Marshall Islands — Spam.
This was what producer Ben Hawke, camera operator Greg Nelson, and I would be feasting on for the next week. These were our supplies, flown in from the Marshall Islands capital Majuro 1,500 kilometres to the east over the vast, deep Pacific. Our home was a rickety demountable building on the main island of Enewetak Atoll.
This coral and sand speck was once part of the rim of an ancient sea volcano in the central Pacific. Like much of the Marshall Islands it was barely a metre above sea level. The lip of Enewetak’s sunken volcano now forms the world’s second largest ocean lagoon, its spectacular azure waters are straight out of a tourist brochure for an unspoiled Pacific paradise.
But this lagoon hides a dark, dirty secret. Its depths harbor one of the most toxic substances on the planet — plutonium. That’s why we had come to Enewetak.
This atoll had been the scene of 43 United States atomic tests during the 1940s and 50s. Some were so big, whole islands had been vaporised by the blasts, one by a thermonuclear bomb called “Ivy Mike”. Despite its rather benign-sounding name, Ivy Mike lit up Enewetak on November 1, 1952, its fireball spawning a mushroom cloud 160 kilometers across. The blast left a 2km-wide crater where the island of Elugelab had been just moments before…
To read the full story and see Greg’s gorgeous photos, go to the following link and search for the words poison in my island:
It was certainly not a diet conducive to a harmonious and flatulence-free household, especially for three grown men in such close quarters. Stacked before us in our kitchen cupboard were towers of baked beans, hearty beef stew, spicy tuna, hot chili beans, and the national dish of the Marshall Islands – Spam.
Journal 6/7/1983 P1 MCHS has outer island settingThe Marshall Islands oldest post-elementary school, Marshalls Christian High School, held its graduation…
Expert weaver Susan Jieta very kindly made a ‘jainai’ (fresh coconut frond mat) and allowed me to photograph the steps she took to create this natural fiber mat that can be used for sitting on for using as a place to store goods.
The Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority (MIMRA) is the fisheries agency of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Each year MIMRA publishes its annual report which covers all aspects of the government organization for that Financial Year.
The Marshalls Billfish Club hosts regular monthly tournaments and two premier competitions each year: The July Tournament and the All Micronesia Tournament, a.k.a. the All Mike.
The Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority (MIMRA) is the fisheries agency of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. It looks after all aspects of commercial fishing in the nation, bringing in substantial revenue. Director Glen Joseph believes in transparency at all levels, commissioning in-depth, magazine-style annual reports every year.
Beran Island in Ailinglaplap is the capital of surfing in the Marshall Islands. It’s managed by Indies Trader, a company owned by Australian Martin Daly.
Marine scientists are regular visitors to the Marshall Islands. Their specific research topics vary, but most choose the Marshalls because our reefs are so accessible … plus those that aren’t so accessible, on the remote outer islands, are truly unique.
