Port of Call LAST UPDATE February 10, 2010
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November 27, 2009 Papette, Tahiti – Nuclear Education: Preserving the truth for future generations
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Mr Oldham demands to know why the “clean” bombs were not tested in mainland France.
Roland Oldham was visibly frustrated when he met with Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) from Japan on November 26. President of Moruroa e Tatou (MET), an NGO working to secure restitution for victims of French nuclear testing in Tahiti, Mr Oldham spoke about the challenges faced by Tahitians in accessing justice for the effects of radiation on their health and environment. Peace Boat convened a meeting of MET and Hibakusha in Papeete to discuss the impact of atomic bombs on their societies and share ideas about preserving the record of their nuclear history.

Between 1966 and 1996, France conducted over 190 nuclear tests in it overseas territory in the South Pacific. Moruroa and other atolls were the scene of atomic explosions up to 170 times stronger than that used in the bombing of Hiroshima. While the French government maintained that the nuclear tests were “clean”, MET contends that the adverse effects of radiation on the island are undeniable.

The organization was founded in 2001 to seek compensation for victims of radiation – many of whom have developed cancers and other serious illnesses. Its over 4000 members are comprised of former military officers, test site workers and their spouses and children. Forty-three years have passed since the first nuclear bomb exploded over the islands. Illness and old age have claimed the lives of many Tahitians exposed to atomic radiation. MET is working to preserve the testimonies of the remaining witnesses and victims. MET has also spent the last 8 years appealing for access to French military and medical records about the nuclear tests. These records remain closed.
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Professor and Ms Le Caill showed a textbook used in Tahitian elementary schools that dedicates only one page to nuclear activity on the islands. The textbook does not address the impact of the nuclear tests.
Extensive censorship and restrictions on information about French nuclear tests are the chief obstacles to the pursuit of justice for Tahitians. Mr Oldham said the lack of nuclear education in Tahiti had implications for the accountability and compensation process as well as for the future of the nation. Professor Maureo Maamaatlia Le Caill works for a textbook publishing company in Tahiti. He agreed that the French government actively suppressed information about the nuclear tests. He explained that for economic and political reasons many Tahitians were very reluctant to offend the French Government.

Tahitian teachers, as public servants of France, shy away from material that diverts from the official French education policy for the island. That policy presents the nuclear tests as the driving force behind the modernization of Tahiti. Textbooks mention the construction of the international airport and the celebrities that visited the French Polynesia but mention nothing of the environmental contamination or the increase in cancers that followed decades of nuclear activity. Professor Le Caill said that with the limited information available to them in schools, Tahitian youth have concluded that the nuclear tests were good for Tahiti.

Meunui Le Caill, Professor Le Caill’s wife, left teaching because she did not agree with being censored on such an important issue. When she dedicated entire classes to exploring French nuclear testing in Tahiti, she knew she was putting her job at risk. Ms Le Caill said the current education system in Tahiti is doing a disservice to its students. “The children have right to know”, she insisted.
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Osaki Shizuko explained that even in Japan, educators had to struggle for the government to introduce nuclear education into the curriculum.
MET members were eager to hear suggestions from the Hibakusha on ways to advance nuclear education in the islands. Osaki Shizuko, a retired Japanese teacher from Nagasaki, could readily appreciate the frustration of pushing against government policy. She said, even without government support, educators could fulfill their responsibility to students through independent programmes. In Nagasaki, Ms Osaki started a peace circle with like-minded teachers in the area to develop initiatives that would make information about the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings available to students. One project that emerged from the group was a Peace Calendar - which was promoted across Japan and later converted to a children’s book. The peace circle also produced a newsletter and a draft curriculum.

Hakariya Michio, a 36-year veteran in education collaborated with his colleagues to develop supplementary material. The teachers also organized field trips and summer programmes centered on peace education. Mr Hakariya said one way to overcome the constraints of the state was to collect signatures and get civil society involved in the programmes. He also suggested that educators form research groups to contribute to the body of knowledge available about nuclear activity in the islands. For educator and children’s writer Ono Mitsuko it was important for teachers to become passionate about peace education. She said that irrespective of government sanctions, teachers were ultimately in control of the educational experience in their classrooms.
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MET members and Hibakusha agreed that collaboration between educators in Tahiti and Japan would enrich nuclear education in both countries.

Much of the focus of MET activities is currently geared towards opposing the newly introduced LAW MORIN. Under the law, the French Ministry of Defense will determine who is awarded compensation for radiation exposure. Mr Oldham has no confidence that the over 4,000 members of MET will access justice under this arrangement. MET also objects to the law’s failure to reflect the findings of research into impact of the nuclear tests. The law maintains that the nuclear tests were “almost clean” and identifies only a few areas of French Polynesia as being contaminated by radiation.

Mr Oldham fears that without nuclear education, full knowledge of this important part of Tahitian history will be lost for future generations, even as they continue to be affected by the impact of radiation on their health and environment. Mr Oldham believes that a memorial, like the Hiroshima Peace Park, should be erected in the capital Papeete to ensure that Tahitians never forget their nuclear past. He is also looking forward to partnering with Peace Boat on exchange programmes with Japanese and Tahitian youth promoting nuclear and peace education.