Ebeye ( /ˈiːbaɪ/ ee-by; Marshallese: Epjā, /ɦʲɜpʲtʲaɦʲ/ or [ɛ̯ɛbɛʑææ̯][1]; locally, Ibae, /ɦʲɨpˠaɦˠɦʲɜɦʲ/ or [ji͡ɯb̴ɑʕɛ̯ɛɛ̯], after the English pronunciation[2]) is the most populous island of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the center for Marshallese culture in the Ralik Chain of the archipelago. Settled on 80 acres (360,000 m²) of land, it has a population of more than 15,000. Over 50% of the population is estimated to be under the age of 18. With crowded living conditions, an inadequate school system, and scarce clean water, Ebeye has been known by the unofficial title of "Slum of the Pacific."[3]
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When Christian missionaries first arrived in the Marshall Islands, they introduced Latin script writing and orthographized the Marshallese language. Originally, Ebeye was written Ebeje by Europeans and pronounced approximately [ɛ̯ɛbɛʑææ̯], which (according to elders of the atoll) means "making something out of nothing." However, the colonial German administration mispronounced the J as if it were German language [j], and foreign observers recorded the resulting pronunciation as Ebeye. During the Japanese period, though, the island's pronunciation in katakana, ebize (エビゼ) [ebʲize], re-approximated Marshallese. After World War II, the Americans took possession of the regional mandate from Japan and restored the mispronunciation of /ˈiːbaɪ/ ee-by. Because most of the modern Marshallese residents of Ebeye don't have family roots on the island, the German pronunciation has stuck, and everyone uses it, even the Marshallese.
Prior to the early 1950s, a large number of present-day residents of Ebeye lived on small islands throughout Kwajalein Atoll, which is in fact the largest atoll in the world, boasting close to 99 islands surrounding a massive lagoon. However, with Kwajalein island used as a support base for the nuclear tests conducted at Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll, Marshallese residents of Kwajalein were relocated by U.S. authorities to a small, planned community constructed on Ebeye, which was largely unpopulated and had served as a Japanese seaplane base prior to the Pacific War. With the advent of the Nike-Zeus anti-ballistic missile testing program of the 1960s, the U.S. military deemed it necessary for safety and security reasons to evacuate a vast sector of the atoll to create a zone in which unarmed guided missiles could be targeted from the continental United States. For this reason, whole communities of Kwajalein Atoll Marshallese residents were relocated from the "Mid-Atoll Corridor" to Ebeye and were provided with housing and the incentive of work at the base on Kwajalein test site. These promises were not entirely upheld, nor were these relocated families thoroughly compensated. Not only were they removed from their land and access to abundant marine resources, but most "Mid-Atoll" people did not have land rights to Ebeye, leaving them without much of a say in their future. Currently, these people are allowed to return to their islands during range downtime but cannot build homes or maintain their land adequately, as they are subject to removal on a nearly monthly basis by authorities.
Subsequent population growth by migration from outlying rural atolls and islands throughout the Marshalls created a major housing shortage and problems with resources throughout the following decades. Original Ebeye inhabitants with land rights were not compensated adequately for the tenants who came to live on their land, and this created enormous tensions that polarized migrants from other atolls and "landowners" or original "Kwajalein people" (Ri-Kuwajleen, /rˠɨ-kʷɨɦˠʷatʲlʲɜɦʲɜnʲ/ or [r̴ɯ͡u-ɡʷuwɒ͡æʑælɛɛ̯ɛn]). These tensions continue to persist today and are part of the basis for many Kwajalein Atoll landowners' disputes about the Land Use Agreement between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Government in Majuro.
Ebeye is the most populous island of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the center for Marshallese culture in the Ralik Chain of the archipelago. It comprises 80 acres (360,000 m²).
It is the fifth most densely populated island in the world.[4]
With crowded living conditions, an inadequate school system, and scarce clean water, Ebeye has been known by the unofficial title of "Slum of the Pacific."
Ebeye has a population of more than 15,000.[4] In 2008, the population was 12,000.[5]
Some of the residents of Ebeye are refugees or descendants of refugees from the effects of the cataclysmic 15-megaton Castle Bravo nuclear test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. The detonation unexpectedly rained nuclear fallout and two inches (50 mm) of radioactive snow on nearby Rongelap Atoll, which had not been evacuated as had Bikini. This caused 100 people to have radiation sickness, and the birth of tragically malformed infants called "jellyfish babies". The American authorities then evacuated Rongelap, and Ebeye was the final destination for many of them.[6]
| Climate data for Kwajalein Atoll | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.7 (85.4) |
29.9 (85.8) |
30.2 (86.3) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.3 (86.6) |
31 (87) |
30.6 (87.1) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.2 (86.3) |
29.8 (85.7) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.20 (86.37) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 25.4 (77.7) |
25.4 (77.7) |
26 (78) |
25.6 (78.1) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.4 (77.8) |
25.4 (77.8) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.4 (77.8) |
26 (78) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.48 (77.86) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 107 (4.2) |
79 (3.1) |
104 (4.1) |
178 (7) |
224 (8.8) |
231 (9.1) |
257 (10.1) |
264 (10.4) |
279 (11) |
302 (11.9) |
282 (11.1) |
198 (7.8) |
2,504 (98.6) |
| Source: Weatherbase [7] | |||||||||||||
Infant mortality on Ebeye is 3.0% as of 2006.[5]
The economy is service driven.[5]