a threshold of 76 hours, and is due to hand in hawaii. the plane set off on its journey from abu dhabi around the world in march. go to our website for all the latest news sports and more. the address for that - aljazeera.com. [ ♪♪ ] on "america tonight" - life on the outside. for a generation ages out of the system. "america tonight"s michael oku with a struggle seniors face and the community cast away. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar in the south pacific with people stranded by history. >> the bikini islanders double jeopardy, displaced by american nuclear testing and facing the rising seas of climate change

what the bikinians say american owns them, and why we haven't paid up. thank you for joining us, i'm joie chen. it is a journey beginning more than 60 years ago. yet even in the south pacific today it is a community cast away. first strapped by the nuclear ambitions of a super power on the other side of the world, and now by a new threat. the people who began their lives on the bikini atoll are seeking a place to call home. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar travelled across the globe to meet them and better understand their hopes now. >> in the middle of the vast pacific island is a tiny coral atol of bikini. >> reporter: july 1st, 1946, bikini atoll. >> here the joint navy task force will conduct a test with the atom bomb.

there's the target, bomb away. [ explosion ] >> reporter: 23 tombs from 1946 to 1958 doubt date. >> a brilliance of sun lights up the pacific, and a force of a million tonnes of tnt is released. >> reporter:..the u.s. tested nuclear weapons here. the biggest was 1,000 times more powerful than the two atomic bombs dropped on japan. turning the afol into an uninhabited waste land. >> you tell the stories for a good day. >> reporter: this man's aunt is over 100. her memory is fading. she recalls the island. she left.

what did the americans say to persuade them to leave. >> they said it was for the good of mann kind. bikinians are religious people. when they think they are helping the world, they say yes, sure. >> this is how the news reels depicted the bikini jp decision to leave. >> despite the fact that the atoll may be destroyed, the natives, simplicity, pleasantness courtesy, they are more than willing to cooperate. >> we believe bikini is our heart, our home. back. >> loni's grandmother was 12 when u.s. soldiers came to the island and asked the bic leave. >> the islanders are well pleased that the yanks will add variety to their lives.

>> reporter: that is how a people who had never been nomads wept into exile. >> america -- went into exile. >> america say we will take you not for long. when it's done, we'll bring you back. in their minds it was a week, two weeks. >> reporter: the bikinians say there was a solemn promise made. >> the american man on bikini said they will always be taken care of, they are the children. u.s. >> reporter: while the u.s. tested their weapons, the bic eachians moved to an area where they were am starved and to another island. >> i was amazed how big the land is, compared to where they are now. i was sitting there remembering my grandmother thinking wow, this is where she grew up. this big piece of property,

where she could go. kila is a one mile, by 1.5 miles long island. >> a tiny lump in the ocean. >> yes. >> with no lagoon, and that's where they are now, waiting. off. >> to go where? >> question of the century, we don't know. >> reporter: it's a question that is more urgent. for decades scientists recorded rising sea levels recorded by climate change, and in recent years king tide swept in, flooding the land with salt water. king tides occur every spring when the moon alines with the sun, increasing the gravitational pool on the earth's tides. when the last king tide's came, they came roaring over here. >> almost like a tsunami-type. >> really. >> they came

in and wept in. >> king tides flooded an unprecedented three times last year, leaving behind salt that contaminated the earth, killing plant lives and crops and killing the drinking water. the tides were more dramatic and frightening. in 30 minutes it came up to their knees. >> within the hour it was up to the waste. >> reporter: houses were ruined. the airport run way flooded, making evacuation impossible. >> by next year when the waves come in, what will happen to the people, my grandmother, she can't walk. who is going to carry her up and out when the waves come? >> reporter: what is it like for people like your grandmother, people like your cousins, showing that the waves come, and when they come, they could come to your waste, and who knows how much higher? >> that is something we have to take to the u.s. congress. >> why the u.s. in. >> they are the ones that put us

shelter. >> this is the bomb that did most of the damage to the marshall islands in. >> reporter: former peace corp volunteer jack arrived this the marshall islands in 13 years ago. married to a bikinian and with citizenship, he is the trust liaison officer for the people of bikini. >> the easy way to describe my job is anything that comes at the bikinians from the outside world, i deal with it. >> the biggest part of his job is administering two u.s. government trust funds. only partial compensation, he says, for leaving their homes. >> reporter: we have not been compensated tore what happened to the people of bic eachy. in the 1940s, and 50s, they've been off their homeland. they had three islands in vaporized and had been off their homeland for 40 years.

people suffered damages. >> in 2001, the bikinians were awarded more damages. more than 600 million for their land by the marshall island nuclear claims tribunal, set up and funded by the u.s. money. >> you have already the sense of injustice because of the nuclear testing, and now you have climate change coming again. and a constant feeling like the world is stacked against the marshall islands in, and always has been, and so now the bikiniians are having discussions about where are we going now, what will we do? >> there's a government trust fund providing for the resettlement of 5,000 bikinians. first, the trust fund specifies it can only be used to buy land in the marshall islands in - the land of the rising sea. and second, if the bikinians decided thi want to go home to

the bikini atoll, there's not enough money to fully clean up all the radiation that lippingers there. it's an -- lingers there it's an urgent conversation. >> reporter: it's months before the next king tides and people are talking about what to do, where to go, and what responsibility of the u.s. has for them. the bikinians say they kept their part of the deal, surrendering their homeland. the american's they say, have not kept theirs. >> when we take you from bic eachy, if you live on a rock or a sand bar, we'll take care of you like our own children. is that what is happening today. promise. >> that's the promise. we are on our own "america tonight"s sheila macvicar is here. these people appear to be stranded between two worlds -

north of their own making. is there any indication that the u.s. government is ready and willing to help more. >> here in washington recollection the department of interior is in charge of administering the fund, and there is an under secretary of the department in charge of the affairs of the bic people. we reached out -- bikini people, we reached out to them, they declined to give an interview. they said they would give us a statement, they have not delivered by the time we went to air. there are ongoing discussions wean the representatives of the bikini people and the department of interior. whether they are taking place at the pace the people - the bic eenians say they need, they need to get off the islands in now, is another question. >> some of the people, of bikini did get away from the south pacific and made it to the u.s. where did they go, why.

there are 7,000 marshall islanders, lying in aaron saw. >> arkansas. >> as far away from an ocean coast in this country. it's a typical immigrant story. someone from the marshall islands in was living in oregon, found work in a chicken factory, and before you know it, 7,000 are there, it's a consule general, community event. it's a strong people. the people know a lot more about arkansas than i wager most americans do. return to bikini or the marshall islands in.roblem with bikini, it's so contaminated with radio act iwaste, the cost of cleaning bikini - if you did not have the issue of climate change and rising scenes, the cost of cleaning it

making it if the for human habitation, meaning you can grow your own food, eat the crabs, fine, but the u.s. does not have that money, is not prepared to pay that money to clean up the land, and the bikinians do not have the money in the trust fund. going home is a dream, a dream that is unrealized. >> "america tonight"s sheila thanks. next, the bill comes due. after the bp oil spill, the price to a community and a very big deal later, ageing out - they paid their debt to society, how to find their way back and new on "america tonight"s website now, the courageous 12, an insiders look at the fight for justice behind the walls of a florida police department at

aljazeera.com/americatonight.

we fast-forward to what is next on the horizonan, five years after the deep water horizon rig exploded, killing 11 and dumping more than 200 gallons into the gulf waters, the worst oil spill in u.s. history. as michael oku found, there's deep concern about what lies beneath the service. >> reporter: what kind of fish are you catching? >> puppy drones, drones, red fish, floupder - all kinds. >> reporter: teresa and donald are members of the point ocean

indian tribe, a community tucked deep in the wet lpd of southern louisiana. for more than 40 years the water put food on the table and money in the bank account. >> what would you guys do if you were not living off the water? >> what would we do? >> yes. >> i don't know. >> reporter: you never considered that? >> no. >> now they are forced to confront the possibility their sea-faring way of life could end. five years after the b.p. oil spill, the fish so dwindled some survive. >> they are fishermen and they couldn't fish. >> it caused a lot of anger in the community. >> before bp, louisiana was losing 24 scare miles of marshland a year, an area the size of manhattan. since b.p., the process

has sped up. we approach what was one of donalds fishing pots. during the spill this was covered in oil. bank. >> they kill all that more. 15 feet went aa. >> that's not all that worries the group. since the spill they say they have been catching deformed fish. this is a picture of one, swollen red, missing scales. b.p. released a report tying to the fifth anniversary of the the spill. it says there's hasn't been long-term impact, adding that the location of the spill, and a massive response mitigated the damage. five years after the spill, fishermen along the coast fell on hard

times. oyster men have been hid hard. according to processors, the oysters have plummeted. disappearing habitat is a reason why. however, fishermen blame the oil, and decisions made by the federal government during a crisis. one study published in a scientific journal said the disperse ants used in the gulf made the oil toxic by a factor of more than 50. >> fast-forward to a massive pay out, bp agreed to pay $18 billion to settle all claims from the deep water horizon spill. the government says it's the biggest settlement with an organization, if approved, they stretch out over 18 years. next, doing their time, and what come after. the next steps for prisoners ageing out of the system.

>> you have kids here who've killed someone? >> award winning journalist soledad o'brien takes us inside the violent world of kids behind bars. will a new experimental program be their last chance? >> i have to do my 100 percent best so i don't end up in a place like this again.

it's about society, but the cost is steep. the fastest growing prison population is inmates over the age of 50, a group that's grown 25% in the last four years, and the justice department reports ageing prisoners are a huge burden, more than most can afford. there is a price to setting them ford. michael oku with the tough outside.

>> i started using drugs when i was 15. i'm 57. i've been to the pen tentry once, i had two convictions. >> reporter: jeffrey washington has been in and out of the penn ten shary system for 24 years, a fast growing group, older prisoners. in a few days, he's getting ut. >> the last thing i want to do is come back. >> there's about 250,000 prisoners, over 50 in the u.s. facing stricter laws. many have been imprisoned for a long time. when they are released, they are at a unique disadvantage. the world they are entering is different to the world they left. again, a list of employers here. that's as good as gold. >> leave out of here with a

free. >> reporter: jeffrey is in a block, the re-entry pod. this helps inmate reinterfere the reel world. >> repeat offenders is not something you stop overnight. it requires tension. >> reporter: san francisco sheriff's office helped to launch the programme and says at the tomb the u.s. criminal justice system lacked a mechanism to prepare a number of re-entry. >> we need to work with seniors, it's a growing population. >> what do seniors face when they are released into society that younger men and women do not. on

society, you know. you need some help. you shouldn't have done wrong. a long time ago. that is on you. >> what, specifically, does your programme do. >> we do case management, alcohol and drug management. we bring mental health providers to help. >> we inspire and motivate them to look at the purpose in life. >> it has helped inmates achieve self sufficiency. for confidence. >> i graduated from the programme, they helped me, steered me to a clean slate. getting all my felonies down to misdemeanours, and with bank accounts and therapy as well.

>> what do they help you with in therapy? you? >> i never graduated from anything in my life. i haven't graduated from high school. when i got this certificate, i cried. i finally accomplished something in life. >> it's a certificate for completion from culinary school. with the help of frank williams, he works five days a week, cooking meals for the agency that got him back on his feet. >> do you sometimes think, you know, when you are chopping up corn bread, that this beats life on the streets. >> i don't think about the streets any more. >> do you look back and think where would i have been were it not for the year and a half working with the programme? >> seriously. again.

>> gaol is the intersection of so many wrongs in a person's life. coming through something like this helps you either learn better habits, better skills, and unlearn the kind of habits or responses you shouldn't have. were there programs lake the one prison. >> no, that's why i do what i do, man. we have to learn how to love each other and ourselves. >> reporter: what do you say to the people who say "why should i care about these people?" you know, people made a mistake in life. someone was there for them. nobody make it alone. there's the premise of our programme. we should be there for them. >> give me a sense, and for all the people watching who can't imagine what it must be like to be 57 years old and an ex-convict, and what challenges

>>. >> when i turned 52 years old i qualify for $555 a month. san francisco, you can't rent a closet for $555. nowhere in the united states could you ren an apartment and -- rent an apartment and sustain medical bills, food. $550 a month. >> you are looking for work. you haven't had a job history over 10 years, what can you do, what can you get hired for, when you apply, i'm an ex-offender. we are not hiring ex-frnds. they have -- offenders. >> reporter: where do you think you would be if you were not housed in a pod with these services >> i might go back to crime. >> reporter: really, you say that without causing. >> it's true.

i have to humble myself. i get to show up for my own day to day responsibilities, because no one is going to just give me a job. all of those are challenges. i'm ready to confront them head on. and you'll see the change for the better, or back here in orange. it's no place to be. especially 57 years old. true life lesson there. that's "america tonight". tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight talk to us on twitter and more of "america tonight" tomorrow. >> wildfires lit by arsonists. >> this sounds like it happened in a flash. >> millions in damages. and the tragic human cost. >> he's not here anymore. >> find out how experts are fighting back.

with just days to go above greece's ref rep dumb the i.m.f. says the country needs another 52 billion euros to stay afloat. ♪ ♪ hello once again a warm welcome to al jazerra. also on this program. the search for survivors of a ferry sinking in the philippines at least 38 people are dead. 15 are still missing. the u.n. says free and fair elections in burundi are not