Tamatoa Tepuhiari’i was born when the last bombs fell on Mā’ohi Nui, yet it wasn’t until he was 19 that he learnt of the full history of the nuclear legacy that his island home was subjected to.
Between 1966 and 1993, France carried out 193 nuclear tests on the Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls.
The fallout from those experiments have left long-lasting environmental, health, and social impacts on the Mā’ohi people, and they are still unfolding today.
Driven to help his community uncover the truth about the long-term consequences of France’s testing program, Tamatoa learnt his fourth language, English, and is now completing his PhD at the University of Hamburg in Germany.
The Mā’ohi scholar believes Indigenous voices play a central role in the push for nuclear justice, and that their experiences are crucial at a time where some world leaders are considering a return to nuclear testing.
“By the end of my PhD, I won’t resolve all the issues that we are facing when it comes to nuclear legacy or nuclear consequences,” he told Nesia Daily.
“So it’s just like a part, that I’m contributing to the whole project of justice that our communities need. And on the other hand, I hope that this project is a way for me to fill up the gap in research.”