Word: bikini
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...Under Bikini's palm and pandanus trees, bright in the South Sea sun and dark in the shadow of the Bomb, primitive man and progressive man held palaver. The U.S. Navy's softspoken, sensitive Commodore Ben Wyatt might well have wondered why progress had to sacrifice this lovely coral atoll, instead of an empty wasteland, a dismal slum or a plaguesome Buchenwald. Bikini's tall, tawny Paramount Chief Juda, manor lord of 160 Christian islanders, took comfort in the will of Heaven...
...simple words, with eloquent gestures, he told Juda and his people of the Bomb. Its power to kill all living things within many miles was beyond belief. But "the U.S. wants to turn this great destructive power into something good for mankind." The Bomb would be dropped on Bikini. For their protection, and for progress, would the islanders help by leaving their home, perhaps forever...
...Americans found the islanders' simple wants hard to understand. Through an interpreter, Commander Harold Grieve asked Chief Juda if timbers from Bikini's houses, for sentimental reasons, should not be transported to Rongerik. The interpreter answered: "He says, as the English would put it, 'Do you not think it would be like carrying coals to Newcastle...
...voyage from Bikini, Juda and his people ate K-rations with apparent relish. Progress chuckled over a victory. But as soon as they reached Rongerik, the islanders fell upon the coconuts and the sweet, tough pandanus fruit strewn about the beach...
...Atomic Age, how can an Allied Military Government deal with such a feudal society? For the loss of Bikini, compensation should be paid. But to whom? Will it be democratic to pay Juda rather than his people? If Juda gets the bounty, will that not mean de facto recognition of his regime? Is this a UNO problem...