The flag of Bikini Atoll closely resembles the flag of the United States. The flag to similar to the American flag, with 13 red and white stripes, with a blue canton containing 23 white five-pointed stars. On the first white stripe near the fly are three black five-pointed stars, and on the fifth white stripe are the words "MEN OTEMJEJ REJ ILO BEIN ANIJ" facing the hoist, with two black five-pointed stars facing the fly.
Symbolism[]
The flag is symbolic of the islanders' position that a great debt is still owed by the U.S. government to the people of Bikini, because in 1954, the United States detonated the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb on the island, poisoning islanders and others with nuclear fallout.
The 23 white stars in the canton of the flag represent the 23 islands of Bikini Atoll. The three black stars in the upper right represent the three islands that were obliterated in March 1954 during the 15-megaton Bravo test by the United States. The two black stars in the lower right corner represent where the Bikinians live now, Kili Island, 425 miles (684 km) to the south of Bikini Atoll, and Ejit Island of Majuro Atoll. These two stars are symbolically far away from Bikini's stars on the flag as the islands are in real life (both in distance and quality of life).
The Marshallese language words on the flag, MEN OTEMJEJ REJ ILO BEIN ANIJ (modern spelling MEN WŌTŌMJEJ REJ ILO PEIN ANIJ), (which translates as "Everything is in the hands of God") was the reply Bikinian leader Juda gave to U.S. Commodore Ben Wyatt in 1946 when the Americans asked the islanders to give up their islands for "the good of mankind and to end all world wars".
The similarity to the American flag design and the striking isolation of the 3-star group and the 2-star group represent the position of the islanders that the Government of the United States still has obligations to their people, including reparations for the nuclear testing and resettlement of the Bikinians who were exiled.