“We’re Taking Back the Narrative”. An Interview with Benetick Kabua Maddison, of the Marshallese Educational Initiative

Abstract

This contribution features an interview with Benetick Kabua Maddison, the Executive Director of the Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI), an NGO that aims to raise awareness of the effects of nuclear testing and climate change on the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The RMI was the site of 67 nuclear tests conducted by the United States between 1946 and 1958, which resulted in environmental degradation and health problems for the local population. The interview explores the current renegotiation of the Compact of Free Association (COFA), a treaty that governs the political and economic relationship between the RMI and the US. The interview also discusses the challenges and opportunities for the Marshallese community, the conflicting statements regarding the contamination of the RMI, and the prospects of a nuclear weapons ban and global solidarity to address the twin existential threats facing the RMI and the world.