Posted on 03 May 2023
The Hiroshima G7 Youth Summit took place in Japan last week, and among attendees was Māohi, indigenous French Polynesian, Tamatoa Tepuhiari. The event bought together around 50 young people to help make progress in eradicating nuclear weapons.
“I feel empowered, empowered to contribute for my community,” Tepuhiari said in regard to the summit. He is interested in understanding the consequences of nuclear weapons on Māohi communities, and said “the nuclear testing period, and particularly nuclear testing, has impacted on the whole society now 27 years after the last bomb, which exploded at Fangataufa,”
The Youth Statement from the summit also addressed widespread concern for Japan’s proposed dumping of nuclear waste into the Pacific. “We are aware of the concerns about dumping 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive waste water this year, and support in solidarity with the states who sit on the frontlines of this crisis and see this as an act of trans-boundary harm upon the Pacific”, it read.