Ebeye Island

Ebeye

Native name: <span class="nickname" ">Epjā
Geography
Location	Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands
Adjacent bodies of water	Northern Pacific Ocean
Area	0.36 km2 (0.14 sq mi)
Country
Marshall Islands

Ebeye (/ˈiːbaɪ/ EE-by; Marshallese: Epjā, [ɛ̯ɛbʲ(ɛ)zʲææ̯];^[1] locally, Ibae, [i̯i͡ɯbˠɑɑ̯ɛ̯ɛɛ̯], after the English pronunciation.^[2]) and 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.

History

Etymology

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 (Epjā in modern orthography, pronounced [ɛ̯ɛbʲ(ɛ)zʲææ̯]), 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 mispronounced the island's name as /ˈiːbaɪ/ EE-by from its spelling. Because most of the modern Marshallese residents of Ebeye don't have family roots on the island, the American pronunciation has stuck, and is the usual name for Ebeye among the island's current population. This pronunciation has even been adapted to Marshallese orthography, so that there are now two synonymous Marshallese names for the island — officially and historically Epjā, and locally Ibae.

World War II

Ebeye island being shelled on 30 January 1944

Ebeye Island seaplane base in 1945

The Imperial Japanese Navy constructed a seaplane base on Ebeye in the early 1940s. Following the Battle of Kwajalein from 31 January-3 February 1944, Ebeye was occupied by US forces. On 7 March the 107th Naval Construction Battalion was sent to Ebeye to redevelop the seaplane base. The Seabees repaired the existing 1,600 feet (490 m) by 30 feet (9.1 m) pier adding a 50 feet (15 m) by 240 feet (73 m) ell extension, and also repaired a 250 feet (76 m) Japanese H-shaped pier. The Seabees assembled a pontoon wharf and pontoon barges for transporting damaged carrier aircraft to repair units ashore. Further installations on Ebeye consisted of housing in floored tents and Quonset huts, a 150-bed dispensary, four magazines, 24,000 square feet (2,200 m²) of covered storage, and a 4,000 US barrels (480,000 l; 130,000 US gal; 100,000 imp gal) aviation-gasoline tank farm.^[3]

Relocation from the Mid-Atoll Corridor

Before the early 1950s, a large number of present-day residents of Ebeye lived on small islands throughout Kwajalein Atoll. When Kwajalein island started to be 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 before the Pacific War.

With the advent of the Nike-Zeus anti-ballistic missile testing program of the 1960s, the U.S. military decided for safety and security reasons to evacuate a vast sector of the atoll to create a zone where 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 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 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. This created tensions that polarized migrants from other atolls and "landowners" or original "Kwajalein people" (Ri-Kuwajleen, [rˠɯ͡u-ɡʷuu̯ɒ͡æzʲ(æ)lʲɛːnʲ]). The tensions 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.

Geography

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]

Demographics

Ebeye has a population of more than 15,000.^[4] In 2008, the population was 12,000.^[5] Because of the size of the island (80 acres) and relative per capita income, the island has been called the ghetto of the Pacific.^[6][7][8][9]

Refuge from nuclear fallout

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. The 1954 American authorities then evacuated Rongelap and were returned in 1957 with extensive medical surveillance. In 1985, Greenpeace evacuated the inhabitants of Rongelap to Mejato (island in Kwajalein atoll). Ebeye was the final destination for many of them.^[10]

Climate

Health

Infant mortality on Ebeye is 3.0% as of 2006.^[5] There have been recurrent outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, and tuberculosis. In 1963 there was a polio outbreak, and in 1978 a measles outbreak — these occurred despite prior vaccinations — leading to a reevaluation of 'herd immunity' in densely populated regions. In 2009, the Ebeye Community Health Center was awarded a grant as part of the United States Stimulus for monitoring influenza (e.g., H1N1).^[12]

Economy

The economy is service driven.^[5]

References

External links

• Celebrating Survival in an 'Atypical Marshallese Community'
• Program Targets Crime On Overcrowded Ebeye
• Ebeye Public Elementary School
• Pearl of the Pacific

Coordinates: 8°46′49″N 167°44′14″E / 8.78028°N 167.73722°E / 8.78028; 167.73722