My goodness, that is very interesting, Jill. I had no idea. What an experience for you...and of course, nothing you could ever forget. Thanks for that posting. What a lot of experiences of life we Armstrongs have had. Marilyn (one N) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jill Johnston" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, September 30, 2006 2:50 PM Subject: Re: [ARMSTRONG] occupations > John, > I was on Majuro from Dec.1985 til Feb. 1988. Went to assist the local > Baha'i > community and to teach school in a private, non-parochial cooperative > school > begun some years earlier by former Peace Corps people who had married > locals > and wanted a U.S. grade education for their kids. > > The Marshallese govt gives funding to ALL schools, public & private, > because > it can't afford to provide teachers and school buildings to house all its > kids. There is very little land (Majuro atoll is only about 30 mi. long > and > in several places a guy could throw a rock from oceanside to lagoonside) > and > very many kids, and that's BEFORE kids come in from the outer islands. > Admittance at the public high school is through a competitive process due > to > lack of space, and not all islands even have a high school. At that time, > teachers were poorly prepared, knew little about classroom management, and > had few or no books. The education system was a mess. > > I lived in a Marshallese neighborhood, in a tin-roofed, plywood shack that > had, unlike the neighbors, electricity, refrigeration, and an electric > cooking stove. We had govt imposed water hours, so when we heard on the > radio when those were, we tried to have someone at home to fill the 30 gal > garbage can we kept for just that purpose. (I got so good at conserving > water that I could shower and wash my hair with the water in one toy sand > bucket!) When it rained, people would stand under the eaves and shampoo > their hair. One year, we didn't have ANY water hours for 2 wks! Droughts > and > rising sea levels are devastating there. High elevation was less than 20 > feet, so with such limited land, any loss is major. > > Our neighbors cooked outside using coconut husk fires; they also washed & > hung their laundry outdoors. The children readily took in our son Jim, and > taught him how to use a soup can lid cutter to make sail boats from > aluminum > pop cans. They were very resourceful; most kids, even as young as three or > four, could juggle the coral rocks.They'd play ball using old pieces of > plywood or sticks for bats and coral rocks or rubber balls to hit. And > talk > about accuracy-- I swear those kids could throw a rock and hit anything > they > targeted! :-) > > I was on Kwaj (paradise of the Pacific) two times, once on my way to > Ebeye, > and once returning. I was thoroughly disgusted, and my blood still boils > at > the thought of the injustices of that situation. Because I am white, no > one > noticed when I wandered away from the landing area and moseyed into the > Kwaj > grocery store. I couldn't believe my eyes: fresh veggies that could've > been > in any U.S. supermarket. Everything was spacious, clean, and > well-stocked.Even in the capital city (Majuro) we didn't have access to > that > quality of goods. And the physical area was like a well-tended U.S. golf > course, manicure, watered, green LAWN (not just grass), painted and > maintained apartments. > > Meanwhile, just three miles away via a diesel-stinking 'cattle car' of a > shuttle boat, was Ebeye, home of the under-paid Marshallese workers who > did > the maintenance and service jobs on Kwaj. Conditions caused Ebeye to be > called the hell-hole of the Pacific. Over-crowded into rotting plywood and > tim-roofed shacks, Marshallese had barely enough room to pass another > person > between 'houses.' There were no patches of grass, only a few isolated > strands due to heavy foot traffic, lack of space and lack of water. There > was no source of fresh water except what the U.S. base on Kwaj brought > over > in a tanker a couple of times a week. There may have been a few private > wells which tapped into fresh water lenses (there were on Majuro), but I > didn't see any. No space for gardens. There was one basketball court-- > yippee. And in the grocery store, it was absolutely shameful: the produce > shelves were empty except for a few squishy, brown celery stalks fit only > for pigs. > > I am still aghast at the disparity of conditions and the lack of > conscience > shown by the U.S. govt toward the Trust Territory peoples. And I won't > EVEN > go into the Bikini bomb test fiasco. It is another case of > misrepresentations, lies, and broken or half-kept promises just like the > American Indian mess. (The Brits did the same to their Pacific island > trustees.) Governments just use and abuse the powerless. I hadn't really > had > the opportunity to see that before. > > Before I left, they were constructing a desalination plant on Ebeye so > there > would be fresh water available. And, of course, the Trust Territory is no > more, the Marshalls having been 'granted' free association status. I've > never been completely sure of just what that entails, but I do know that > Marshallese citizens can move into the U.S. freely. > > Living in the Marshalls was, in many ways, like rolling back U.S. time 30 > years and more. For example, few businesses even had phones; bank casheirs > still did math with pencil/paper and the lines were long and slow-moving. > But at the same time, there was inundation by video and TV, creating > awareness of and desire for 'stuff'. And, unfortunately, it was these > media > that provided many people with their major source of English language > experience (God forbid!) and with their ideas of appropriate and 'normal' > U.S. lifestyle, behavior, etc. > > Meanwhile, the traditional Marshallese culture has taken huge hits. > People's > traditional roles are, for the most part, no longer available and there > was, > at least at that time, nothing to replace them, so break-ins, juvenile > drinking, etc. was becoming a problem; unemployment was high, and wages > were > pathetic. Since life on the OUTER islands, such as Mili, was still > relatively cashless, families on Majuro were strained to the max when > relatives came in to try to find work or waiting get to the airport to go > to > Honolulu for medical issues. > > All in all, living in the Marshalls was, hands down, the most stimulating, > awareness-raising, and valuable experience I've ever had!!! It was hugely > enriching, and it made me aware of the difference between being a toursit > and living in another culture: it's the difference between being among, > observing and being an active part of. I find that I am no longer > fulfilled by being a tourist. > > John, I'm not going off on you personally. I just have to clear my pipes > on > the subject occasionally. :-) No offense intended. I'd be interested in > your experiences there. > > Jill in Washington state > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John Armstrong" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, September 30, 2006 9:08 AM > Subject: Re: [ARMSTRONG] occupations > > > > >> Jill, >> When were you in the Marshall Islands??? >> I lived on Kwajalein from Jan 1958 to April of 1959.. >> >> I retired from farming at the age of 17 >> and chose a 30 yr career in the US Navy.. >> >> Sincerely, >> John D >> A little SoWest of North > >>>College works, though. Taught an education class in the Marshall Islands >>>(in >>>the central Pacific). What an experience! The government assigned >>>'teachers' >>>to be sent to the outer islands, but none had any teaching background. In >>>fact some were nurses, etc. So I had to design a course on >>>everything-you-need-to-know-to-manage-students-and-teach. Challenging, >>>but >>>very satisfying! >> > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message