In Quest of Dialogue on a "Hot" Subject

• Published in: The Contemporary Pacific Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 336 - 338
• Main Author: Chappell, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Honolulu CENTER FOR PACIFIC ISLANDS STUDIES & UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I PRESS 22.09.2005; University of Hawai'i Press; University of Hawaii Press
• Subjects: Activists; Anglophones; Colonial languages; Colonialism; Decolonization; Dialogue; Dialogue 1: Reflections on Nuclear Testing in the South Pacific; English language; French language; Historians; Independence; Language barrier; New Caledonia; Nuclear testing; Nuclear tests; Nuclear weapons; Pacific Region; Postcolonial societies; Sovereignty; Territories; Testing; Oceania; Fiji; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Pacific Islands; South Pacific; Fangataufa; Pacific states; New Caledonia; French Polynesia; Moorea; Australia; France; Tahiti
• ISSN: 1043-898X; 1527-9464; 1527-9464
• DOI: 10.1353/cp.2005.0042

Since I began studying Kanaky New Caledonia and other French Pacific territories more than a decade ago, I have tried to do what I can to encourage more dialogue across the artificial barriers created by colonial languages in the Pacific, especially between speakers of English and French. French nuclear testing aroused public protest across the region, and many critics saw it as another aspect of ongoing colonial rule in French Polynesia and Kanaky New Caledonia (which has strategic nickel resources), despite active independence movements in both territories. Because I was on the editorial board of The Contemporary Pacific, I brought the matter to the attention of my colleagues.