The health challenges of Kiritimati people remain largely forgotten, despite records showing that 189 families became unwell after the tests
British nuclear test veterans have renewed legal action against the UK government as they fight for compensation and the public release of their medical records.
Human rights lawyers are working alongside campaigners to access scientific health records that could reveal the truth about radioactive exposures faced by British soldiers in the 1950s and 60s.
The latest legal challenge comes more than a decade after a Supreme Court judgement which blocked the veterans from suing the Ministry of Defence.
More than 22,000 personnel worked on detonations in Australia and the South Pacific in the aftermath of World War Two.
Campaigners believe many of these individuals suffered cancers and had children with birth defects because of radiation.
The Ministry of Defence has repeatedly said large studies have found no link between the tests and ill health.
Some of the largest nuclear explosions were carried out at Kiritimati, one of more than 30 low-lying Pacific islands that make up the tropical nation of Kiribati.
Kiritimati’s viridescent lagoons conceal this atoll’s dark atomic history. The thermonuclear weapons that were tested here cemented Britain’s place as a Cold War superpower.
Between 1957 and 1962, the UK and USA undertook 33 tests above the archipelago, which was under British colonial control at the time. A gung-ho attitude prevailed and there was minimal concern for the wellbeing of the British soldiers who were involved.
There was even less regard for the local community, who were given menial work, degraded, and described by reports at the time as “scantily-clad people in boats to whom the criteria of primitive peoples should apply”.
Shockingly, the health challenges of Kiritimati families have remained unstudied, unsupported, and unshared – despite the Kiritimati Association of Atomic Cancer Patients recording that 189 families became unwell after the tests.
When I recently returned to Kiritimati, the local women welcomed me back to the island. I soon found myself deep in conversation with the Chair of the Association, Teeua Taukaro, 68. We chatted as we grubbed up the weeds around a memorial to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Grapple Y, Britain’s largest nuclear weapon test.
Teeua’s brow furrowed with concern as she described the island’s nuclear harms. “It is well known that those bombs were nuclear and that they were poisonous to our people,” she said.
She recalled her childhood of nuclear explosions with an expression of horror as we tore up vegetation from the dusty soil. Her eyes teared up. “The noise, it was terrifying. Bang! Then I heard no more. I have a little hearing now, but most was lost during the tests. There were many like me, but they haven’t survived this long.”
She added: “We have become victims of unimaginable cruelty. Reparations are needed for our dignity, our people, and our health. Many have had unstoppable illnesses such as cancer.”
Teeua’s story is not unique. During my time in Kiritimati, where the average lifespan is just 66 years, I heard many tragic stories of family members lost to cancer and babies born with birth defects.
The British nuclear test veteran community stands with the people of Kiritimati. Steve Purse is a test veteran’s son who was born with a complicated series of disabilities and conditions, making it difficult for him to walk far without crutches.
“Reparations for Kiritimati people are so important,” he said. “They were there, their lands have been affected, their health has been affected, just as ours has. They are our nuclear family.”
Kiribati recently requested compensation and access to restricted data about the tests, asking the UN that “nuclear weapon states must provide adequate financial compensation and engage in information exchanges with States Parties whose territories served as test sites.”
This call was reiterated by the President of Kiribati, Taneti Maamau, at the 78thSession of the UN General Assembly. He said: “Most important is the health of our people, especially those who were exposed to the nuclear test blasts on Christmas Island, and those whose ancestral land has been exploited leaving pinnacles behind. Compensations must be made.”
Human rights lawyers at Australian Catholic University have joined Kiribati’s fight for justice. Patrick Keyzer, the project lead, said: “We are working out how we can ensure that governments are responsible for the damage and compensate victims.”
So, how long will the UK continue to neglect the needs of its own veterans and former colonies? Ben Donaldson at the United Nations Association said: “The UK is not only refusing to engage with Kiribati’s work to address the impacts of Britain’s nuclear tests, but it is actively impeding the initiative by withholding vital information.
“With the help of civil society, academia, the media, and the large group of states at the UN now intent on pursuing this, the UK Government has nowhere left to hide. It’s time to provide support.”
- Dr Becky Alexis-Martin is an author and lecturer in peace and international development at the University of Bradford
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