How an Oahu Doctor Struggles to Care for His Micronesian Patients

Fleeing Rising Sea Levels and Burdened With Health Problems, Hawai‘i’s Newest Migrants Now Face ‘Bigotry and Backlash’

With its multitude of ethnicities, cultures, and languages, Hawaiʻi might appear at first glance to be a post-racial society. The predicament of Micronesians in Hawai‘i, however, gives the lie to that myth. What’s more, Micronesians must pay for their second-class status through their health, already affected by nuclear weapons testing, because of the state’s discriminatory health policies.

Micronesians, mostly from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), are the newest group of migrants to Hawaiʻi. They come in search of opportunities: …