On a country of hundreds of island, spread over 29 coral reefs in the South Pacific and barely two meters above sea level, the climate change cannot to be overlooked. For decades the sea level has been increasing by centimeters. Even the optimistic predictions do not give the Marshall Islands any chance: the ocean will devour one atoll after another. A whole nation will lose their land. And the population of the Marshall Islands is only a small part of the mass of 150 million people living in coastal regions, which are endangered by climate change. An agreement guarantees the Marshallese a visa-free entry to the USA as well as a work permit. Since the agreement was concluded in 1986, the Marshall Islands have lost nearly a third of their inhabitants. One third of their 60,000 inhabitants are already living in the USA and the government is concerned about the massive migration of the population. The option of the Marshallese to migrate to America is a mere act of "reparation". Redress for a life under the US Administration during the days of the cold war. A total of 67 atomic bombs detonated on the atolls Eniwetok and Bikini. Their combined explosive power was as great as if one had fired 1.6 Hiroshima bombs every day during these twelve years. Now, decades later, the country is again threatened in its existence. Not by war, but by climate change.

Written by: Miriam Milzner

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