The dangers of forgetting the past

Oemwa Johnson told the United Nations that her grandfather was given only a thin blanket to shield his eyes from the flashes of British and U.S. nuclear tests conducted on Kiritimati between 1957 and 1962. He was 14 at the time.

Johnson, a youth representative from Kiribati, said the radiation exposure caused him hearing loss and cognitive decline that lasted throughout his life. She said the effects also reached later generations. Her father’s two older sisters were born prematurely and died soon afterward, while other families in the community reported similar cases.

“My father and I also suffer from chronic migraines and other unexplained health problems,” Johnson told the UN General Assembly. Her account underscored the lasting human cost of nuclear testing, even decades after the explosions ended.

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They were all gathered on a small tennis court and were given only a thin blanket, without real protection. They used it to cover their eyes from the flashes of the explosion.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has remained stalled since it was signed in 1996. It has been signed by 185 of the world’s 196 countries and ratified by 169, but it still has not entered into force. The article presents that delay as a continuing risk, leaving open the possibility that nuclear powers could again resort to weapons whose consequences are known to be catastrophic and long-lasting.

More than 2,000 nuclear tests have taken place since the first test on July 16, 1945, according to figures discussed by the United Nations. Such tests have been linked to cancer, birth defects, long-term contamination and radioactive fallout. August 29 is observed as the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

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My father and I also suffer from chronic migraines and other unexplained health problems.