NEW CALEDONIA: WOMEN AND THE KANAK LIBERATION STRUGGLE

Sousanna Ounei

 

Sousanna Ounei, a Kanak from French-occupied New Caledonia, spoke to the Assembly about the struggle of her people, the indigenous people of New Caledonia, against French colonialism in this South Pacific island nation. She is an official spokesperson from the Kanak Independence Front which is comprised of five major parties. Much of her address dealt with struggle of women within the independence movements. (She gave this address shortly before the recent assassination of several Kanak leaders by white settlers.)

 

Dream to Reality

As I didn’t grow up within my tribe in the island of Ouvea, but with my aunty in Noumea, I became aware very early of the racist practices of the French administration. At the convent school I attended, the white kids got all the attention, while the Kanak were virtually ignored. The teachers always used to call us insulting names, terms invented by the early settlers to make us feel less than human. I used to get really upset by this, and remember when I was 12 thinking that one day a totally black movement would be formed to struggle against these injustices.

My dreams became a reality in September 1969, when Nidoish Naisseline, the high chief of Mare, returned to New Caledonia from France and established a political group called the ‘Red Scarves’. Naisseline stressed the importance of reclaiming the name Kanak, because you see even this word was used in a derogatory way. Before we used to disown the name, we would say a Melanesian but not a Kanak, because the whites referred to us as ‘dirty Kanaks’, insulted our old people like this, so that they were ashamed of their identity. So the Red Scarves began by restoring Kanak pride, and then started to organize the Kanak people.

 

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Treatment of Women

Our protest actions at that time were met with brutal police intervention, especially since there are not many of us then, Naisseline was in fact imprisoned for 6 months, and we soon learnt what to expect from the authorities.  It was also around this time that I became disturbed about the way in which the men in the group were treating the women. They only seemed to include women, so that they could sleep with them after the meetings.  I tended to stay in the background at meetings at that time, just to watch what was going on and avoid being chased after.  Fortunately there was a really strong woman in the group called Dewe Gorody, who used to take part in the actions, and we became very close friends and talked about these things together.

 

Grassroots Work

Because Naisseline was from Mare, there tended to be a majority of Loyalty Islanders in the Red Scarves, and the young people from La Grande Terre felt they did not have a voice.  They also challenged the fact that Loyalty Islanders were more privileged because they had better educational opportunities and were favoured in the work force.  We explained to them that this was a result of deliberate government policy aimed at dividing the Kanak population, similar to the way immigrant workers were brought from Tahiti, Wallis and Futuna to provide cheap, submissive tabour.  So to respect their grievances, we decided then in 1974 to set up regional groups, as this would also facilitate work at grassroots level.

One of the groups formed in La Grande Terre called '1878' (this marks the year the great Kanak chief Atai was killed by the French for revolting against the land thefts) focussed its actions around September 24, the date back in 1862 when France took possession of New Caledonia by military force, the same as the Waitangi Action Committee In Aotearoa focussed on February 6, the date the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.  The first time '1878' demonstrated to oppose the government's celebration, they were batoned by the army, and 2 members were arrested.  Members of the Red Scarves were sentenced.  The police gave us no warning before they moved in to beat us up. Twelve activists were sentenced to 6 months, myself and Dewe included. The September 24 actions were instrumental in mobilising the Kanak population.  The different regional groups moved through the country, explaining why '1878' had protested, and why we had been arrested.  Kanak people gave money for 2

 

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lawyers to be brought over from France to dispute the sentences, and they were successful in getting them reduced to two months. The lawyers pointed out that there was a strong resemblance with the former situation of Algerian political prisoners during French political rule.

 

Racist Killing

Another event which really united Kanak people was the shooting of 22 year old Richard Kamoude by a racist French cop on December 27, 1975.  The Red Scarves and ‘1878' organised protest demonstrations in which over 3,000 people participated, marching daily for 2 weeks through the streets of Noumea, despite blockades of police armed with batons, tear gas and automatic rifles.  The cop received a suspended sentence and later was promoted into the Ministry responsible for the administration of New Caledonia. As young activists, we were so angered by such injustice and so disillusioned by the failure of the 4 Kanak representatives in the Territorial Assembly to do something about it, that we decided to form our own political party, PALIKA, the Kanak Liberation Party.  We weren't interested in getting reformist legislation passed, we wanted our land back, we wanted our freedom.

My flat served as the party's base at that stage.  We worked day and night writing articles, leafletting, organising actions and education programmes in Noumea and the tribal areas.  We studied Marxism to deepen our understanding of oppression, as we felt that If was no longer sufficient to analyse our exploitation merely in terms of blacks and whites as we had in 1969.

 

Men Refuse Challenge

At that time Dewe and I were also pushing for the recognition of the constraints placed on women within the tribal structure, as well as within the party.  It wasn't easy; the men's egos were bruised and they accused us of exaggerating things and of copying the feminists in France. Nonetheless, we continued to point out the contradictions in their political analysis — they talked of liberation for their people, but treated their wives like kitchen slaves.  Under pressure, a number of different independence parties set up women's sections, but these turned out to be mere token gestures.  It looked good to have women accompanying them on their campaigns, just so long as they kept their mouths shut.  The Territorial Assemblies even decided to appoint a woman to be in charge of Women's Affairs, but

 

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the woman they chose for the position had no idea, just how to dress nicely, teeter around in high heels and generally make a good impression.

At the party congress in 1979, Dewe and I stormed out in anger at the men’s refusal to listen to our demands as women. Some later apologized, but when we suggested that it was time they took turns cleaning up the office they all got indignant, saying we were making a big fuss about nothing and that women were much better suited for sweeping up their houses than men. It is taking a long time to change their attitudes, and even now not enough. They have accepted our position and that is all.

 

Applying Pressure

Back in 1979, there were also divisions emerging within Palika: some of us didn’t agree on strategies. In the end, Naisseline, myself and others left and founded the Kanak Socialist Liberation Party of which two members are part of the Kanak Independence Front within the Territorial Assembly. We felt that it was important to work in this governmental structure that some of the older independence leaders were not bought off by the French compromises, like the Statute of International Autonomy they are trying to impose on us at present. We are there to apply pressure when needed: e.g., in forcing the Independence Front to denounce the round-table talks at Nainville, La Roche last year, at which the Mitterand government announced that an understanding had been reached between the right-wing parties and the Independence Front on the future political status of New Caledonia. This is an absolutely impossible position while racist white settlers are arming in an uneasy way in the country areas, Kanaks are assassinated and continue to live in appalling poverty on reserves and in urban ghettos.

A women’s committee was formed in the LKS (Liberation du Kanak Socialiste). There was a women’s section in all the New Caledonia independence parties, but they didn’t change anything.

Even in the LKS it was the husbands who formed the women’s sections, and their activities were limited to sewing and making cakes for the party. When I tried to bring up the problems of teenage mothers or battered wives, they said it was just theory.

 

New Women’s Group

      In 1983 I gave up trying to influence the women’s sections within

 

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the party and formed a Kanak women’s group, the Groupe des Femmes Kanaks Exploitees en Luttee (GFKEL).

      We still have to take some very strong stands to get the men to take our ideas seriously and it’s very difficult.. We take part in political action at all levels. We decided to take action to demand the release of Kanaks arrested after the Koinde tribe had protested against a sawmill owner whose milling operation had polluted the river on which the tribe depended for survival. Six of us chained ourselves to the railings of the French Governor’s residence for 20 hours until the cops came and removed us. They didn’t press charges so that night we went to the local television station at the time the news was being broadcast live, to publicise the reasons for our action. We threw a statement in front of the newsreader and chanted “Release the Koinde prisoners. Kanak independence now.”

After all these actions, we (the GFKEL) posed the problem of battered women because we were always seeing women with bruised faces and teenage mothers who have suffered because of ignorance about contraception. We also asked about the status of women in the struggle and after independence. This question was rather embarrassing for some men. They understand the problems of colonialism, but they don’t understand the women’s struggle. We have realized that we only we women can do anything about it.

 

1984 and After

      The French Government has been under increasing international pressure to decolonise and has been sandwiched between the demands of the Kanak Independence Front and the white colonists. In its tradition of failed reformism, the French Government has cast about for a path of action which would present a good image to the world while appeasing all sides in New Caledonia. In addition, it has had to face the stark reality that the territory is economically totally unprepared for independence.

      While international attention is being captivated by the three way negotiations on independence (French Government, Kanak people, white colonists), the real influence on the final form of New Caledonia’s independence is coming from behind the scenes. The local capitalists and multinational corporations are already bribing and manipulating to secure their future interests. (New Caledonia is the second highest producer of nickel. It also exports coal, chrome, manganese, iron, cobalt, zinc, coffee and copra. Its economy depends on these exports and tourism.)

 

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Electoral Injustice But Ready to Fight

      The French Government’s immigration policies have ensured that the Kanak population becomes a minority (60,000 Kanak out of a total of 130,000 and half of the Kanak population is under 25). Without disenfranchising part of the immigrant population, the Kanak will never achieve independence through a referendum. The Kanak people will have suggested that the franchise be restricted to those persons with at least one parent born in New Caledonia. (Non-Kanak people in this category number 30,500). In this way the Kanak Independence Front recognizes some white and non-white (Polynesian, Chinese) as “victims of history” and is willing to grant them voting rights.

      It should be noted that the Kanak are marginalized from the economy. Out of 60,000 Kanak, only 7,000 are in paid employment and the majority of these are in low status, unskilled jobs. Only 100 Kanak are training or studying in France.

      The current situation in New Caledonia must be publicized internationally. By 1853, the French had reduced the Kanak population from 200,000 to 26,000. Our grandmothers used to hide their children from the massacres of the colonial army. Thanks to this we are 60,000 strong today. We are organized and we are ready to fight.