Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Kwajalein, Ebeye and Gugeegue Pictures (Well no pics of Kwaj....I think i would get arrested or something)
Here are the pics from my trip to the other side of the country
As always you can look at the photos in the album here:
As always you can look at the photos in the album here:
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| Marshall Islands part 11 |
Kwajalein, Ebeye and Gugeegue
This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Kwajalein Atoll, the largest atoll/lagoon in the world and home to the Ronald Regan Missile Range. This place is one of the strange microcosms of the world. There is a clash of cultures, people and money.
The area is split into two main populations: American military and contractor personnel and their families on the Army base (the majority of them white) and the “local” Marshallese community (some who are from this atoll and others from various outer islands).
People who live on the base live like Americans with cheap food, one family per home and a well developed infrastructure. Obviously there is somewhat of a reduction of freedom for security since these people live on a military base, but more or less it appears to be American suburbia transplanted to a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific.
The majority of the Marshallese community lives on the small island of Ebeye (approximately 0.14 square miles in area). I am told that eleven thousands of people crowd on this little island making Ebeye one of the most densely populated places in the world (approximately equivalent to 78,500 people per square mile).
Due to security reasons I was not able to visit Kwajalein. I guess I am a potential security threat. The most interesting thing was passing through the security checkpoints and having people give me funny looks when I told them I was going to Ebeye. First of all, I was the only person who was not Marshallese going to Ebeye from the airplane that day. That means I had to get a special police escort from the airport to the dock and had to answer a series of questions about my visit. The people looked as if they didn’t believe me when I told them I was staying 5 days in Ebeye and Gugeegue.
For as crowded as Ebeye is, the people hide behind the high walls and fences during the day. In some places the streets look deserted. It is weird for there to be almost no one in the street when you know that behind the walls and in the homes people are huddled together (10, 20, 30 or more people) in a small shack with inconsistent electricity and probably no running water. It is sad to see the outhouses and the dump at one end of town completely surrounded by children, adults and homes.
In the end, this was quite the eye opening experience and I am glad I had the opportunity to see and stay in Ebeye. It is much different than Majuro and the outer islands. And in some ways it may be the most difficult place to live in the Marshall Islands.
The area is split into two main populations: American military and contractor personnel and their families on the Army base (the majority of them white) and the “local” Marshallese community (some who are from this atoll and others from various outer islands).
People who live on the base live like Americans with cheap food, one family per home and a well developed infrastructure. Obviously there is somewhat of a reduction of freedom for security since these people live on a military base, but more or less it appears to be American suburbia transplanted to a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific.
The majority of the Marshallese community lives on the small island of Ebeye (approximately 0.14 square miles in area). I am told that eleven thousands of people crowd on this little island making Ebeye one of the most densely populated places in the world (approximately equivalent to 78,500 people per square mile).
Due to security reasons I was not able to visit Kwajalein. I guess I am a potential security threat. The most interesting thing was passing through the security checkpoints and having people give me funny looks when I told them I was going to Ebeye. First of all, I was the only person who was not Marshallese going to Ebeye from the airplane that day. That means I had to get a special police escort from the airport to the dock and had to answer a series of questions about my visit. The people looked as if they didn’t believe me when I told them I was staying 5 days in Ebeye and Gugeegue.
For as crowded as Ebeye is, the people hide behind the high walls and fences during the day. In some places the streets look deserted. It is weird for there to be almost no one in the street when you know that behind the walls and in the homes people are huddled together (10, 20, 30 or more people) in a small shack with inconsistent electricity and probably no running water. It is sad to see the outhouses and the dump at one end of town completely surrounded by children, adults and homes.
In the end, this was quite the eye opening experience and I am glad I had the opportunity to see and stay in Ebeye. It is much different than Majuro and the outer islands. And in some ways it may be the most difficult place to live in the Marshall Islands.
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