Fifty years ago in July, the waters of the South Pacific rushed towards the shores of Teahupo’o in a perfect, powerful curl, as they always have. However, another wave, invisible and airborne, visited the tiny hamlet that day. This wave was a surge of radiation escaping from a nuclear weapon test conducted by France in this remote part of their republic.
Roniu Tupana Poareu, born in Teahupo’o, now serves as its mayor. She proudly speaks of how its azure wave was chosen as the site of the surfing competition in the Summer Olympics, hosted in Paris. However, behind the sunny tourist brochure facade of Teahupo’o lies a dark secret. According to declassified French military documents, the village recorded some of the highest radiation readings on Tahiti after a radioactive cloud unexpectedly drifted overhead in July 1974.
Many residents, including Ms. Poareu’s siblings, developed cancers associated with radiation exposure. Despite the French government’s bureaucratic process of recognizing and compensating victims of radiation-linked diseases, the suffering in Teahupo’o continues. Ms. Poareu, while proud of the Olympic surfing event, harbors resentment towards France for the devastation caused to her community.
The dual realities of Teahupo’o, a surfing paradise and a cancer hotspot, reflect the complex legacy of colonialism in French Polynesia. As the site of nearly 200 French nuclear tests from 1966 to 1996, the territory developed rapidly. However, with development came danger, as evidenced by the elevated rates of cancer and other diseases linked to radiation exposure.
French lawmakers have initiated an inquiry into the harmful effects of the nuclear tests in French Polynesia, acknowledging the debt owed to the territory. Local leaders push for justice and recognition of the true toll of the weapons testing. The legacy of nuclear colonialism looms large over the islands, as victims continue to suffer the consequences of decades of nuclear testing.