| Survivors of atomic bomb tests seek aid from Congress By Joretta Purdue United Methodist News Service  Rokko Langinbelik wants to tell her story to members of Congress. The soft-spoken grandmother is from Rongelap in the Marshall Islands, an area used by the United States for testing atomic and hydrogen bombs from 1946 to 1958.
She and five other Pacific Islanders came to the nations capital to share the little-known facts about how those tests have affected the people of their area, and to seek aid from Congress. They removed us to Lae, another island, before the testing began, recalls Langinbelik, now 60. A year or two later, she and other people from her island were allowed to go home. After the testing in 1954 we were having so many kinds of sickness so many kinds of cancer and miscarriages, deformed fetuses and handicapped children, she says. She and the others tell of being relocated several times, as the U.S. military cleared out their area for testing its bombs. However, on one occasion in 1954, the islanders on Rongelap were not moved. The test was carried out and fallout rained down on the unsuspecting islanders. She and the other survivors must take medicines every day to try to keep their various afflictions from becoming worse, she explained. The Compact of Free Association, which included a provision for health care, expired in 2001. In 1999, the Republic of the Marshall Islands submitted a petition of changed circumstances to the U.S. government, saying the cost of health care was underestimated when the compact was negotiated. This petition was resubmitted to the new U.S. administration in March 2000, but has not been acted upon. Because the people of the islands need medicine, her group has come to appeal to Congress for medical care for the survivors, their children and grandchildren. The delegation is being hosted by the United Church of Christ. Betty Henderson, a volunteer staff member at the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, helped to facilitate the visit of the four women and two men from the islands. The United Methodist Churchs highest legislative assembly, the General Conference, passed a resolution in 2000 titled Atomic Testing on the Marshall Islands A Legacy, in which the church agrees with the government of the islands in calling for more just compensation and expansion of medical care than what has been provided. Aruko Bobo, now 64, was also on Rongelap that day in 1954. Thirty-five kinds of cancer are on the list approved for treatment, but current health care provisions do not cover eyes or teeth, she said of her afflictions. Both of her parents developed inoperable thyroid cancer about two years after the exposure and died. Her oldest son has a heart problem that she believes stems from the radiation. Her sister had a pregnancy in which the fetus looked like a bunch of grapes just masses of tissue. Bobo says the islanders had been kept in the dark too much about what happened and their own medical treatments. The first medical personnel who, she said, were always taking blood and tissue samples were scientists from Brookhaven National Laboratories in Upton, N.Y. The scientists did not tell people enough about their own conditions and treatment, she said. Current health care is by contract with one doctor who employs inexperienced doctors and does not have up-to-date equipment, the islanders say. Erine Jitiam, 27, explained that all the food consumed on Enewetak comes by ship because of the contamination in the soil and the sea surrounding the island. Although the population has grown larger, the amount of food supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not changed, she said. Johnny Johnson, 54, is from Bikini island but has never been able to live there. No one is able to live there as a result of the tests, he said. The land and sea provided everything the people needed before it was poisoned by radiation. The groups week in Washington culminated with a briefing for legislators and aides on Sept. 13. Bobos situation illustrates their problems. She lives on Enewetak, but her mother is living on another island, where she is seeking medical aid for her condition. Bobos two oldest children live with their fathers family on another island. Referring to her children, Bobo says, I have to tell them the truth, that we cant stay in Enewetak because its not good for their health. They have to look for a better life. | 
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