“The word “test” does not sufficiently reflect the horror unleashed by the detonation of an atomic bomb.”
This piece: Ending Nuclear Tests, Abolishing Nuclear Weapons by Ray Acheson, of Reaching Critical Will, written for International Day Against Nuclear Weapons sums up perfectly the injustice of nuclear weapons testing.
It clearly points out how imperial and racist attitudes drove decisions about where the weapons have been tested and where radioactive waste is discarded. It induces frustration, sadness and impetus for why we need to completely disarm the global nuclear weapon apparatus.
Across the South Pacific our communities have been impacted by testing by the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France. It has caused devastation for so many communities, families, the environment, seas, animals, and lands.
We continue to call on states who still have not ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty along with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to do so. Only then can the foolish reliance on nuclear weapons finally end.
Here are some great resources to learn more about the impact of nuclear weapon testing.
Nuclear Truth Project resources – the articles on this page are well worth a read, comprehensive and thorough.
Down Wind documentary (2023).
Pacific women speak out for independence and denuclearization edited by Zohl dé Ishtar. A joint publication by Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (Aotearoa), The Disarmament and Security Centre (Aotearoa), and Pacific Connections (Australia)
Rainbow Warrior: Murder In The Pacific an excellent documentary-series which covers the impact of the nuclear weapon testing in the Marshall Islands.
Surviving Nuclear Testing by ICAN
Nuclear test veterans seek recognition by Aaron Smale of Newsroom. More than 500 sailors on New Zealand navy ships were exposed to tests of hydrogen bombs in the late 1950s.
