Voting day in Thio, Kanak stronghold of New Caledonia, where "we do not want to relive the 1980s"

Throughout the 45 kilometers of provincial highway 4 (RP4), which crosses the south of New Caledonia from west to east, from Boulouparis to Thio, not a sign, not a bridge spanning a creek (stream) which is not decorated with Kanaky colors.

The Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) campaigned for independence by asking supporters to display their colors. On this polling day, Sunday, November 4, everyone proudly wears them: blue, green, red, yellow flags on windows, on vehicles, dresses and T-shirts, and even mats in their hair.

From the opening, at 8 am, of the four polling stations of the municipality of Thio (2 104 registered), tails are formed. The affluence is strong: at 11 o'clock, the participation has already reached 50%.

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For Marie-Françoise and Andy, who came from Nouméa, 120 kilometers away, to vote, "It's a historic day" Andy was working at the nickel mine; Thio is also a mining site of the Société Le Nickel (SLN), which still owns a farm on the "plateau", the mountain that overlooks the Thio valley, and another at the Sapins camp. The surrounding mountains bear the scars of the mining of the ore: broad webs that descend to the hillside. Since the events of the 1980s, SLN has granted the Kanak an exploitation, Somikat, commonly known as the "customary mine".

Events still engraved in the memories

The mine at Thio employed nearly two thousand persons; with the collapse of the nickel price, in the last decade, it uses only eight hundred. Many Melanesians, like Andy and his girlfriend, had to leave the town to try to find work in Noumea. And the village has emptied: it has only three thousand inhabitants after having counted more than five thousand. "I hope that our generation will be able to move towards the future, that it will be able to change for us, to be able to find employment", wishes Marie-Christine.

There is little doubt here about the ballot that the vast majority of voters, more than 90% Melanesian, will have deposited in the ballot box. On the billboards, at the entrance to the town hall, the posters of the "no" did not resist. The "yes" to independence will prevail mbadively in this feud independence, theater in the 1980s, violent clashes, sometimes deadly, between Kanak communities – indigenous people of the territory – and Caldoche – of European origin – and with the police.

Symbol of this armed revolt, the broken urn with the ax, on November 18, 1984, by Eloi Machoro, who will be killed two months later by the snipers of the GIGN – the intervention unit of the national gendarmerie – as well as Marcel Nonnaro, another independence activist.

These events are still engraved in the memories, including those of young people. Daïna, a 26-year-old volunteer firefighter dressed in a missionary dress in Kanaky's colors, made no secret of her vote. "It's important for our old people, who fought for independence and freedom. We owe them that. But whether the yes wins or not, we do not want to relive the 1980s "she hastens to clarify.

Hope a new page turns

Despite the broad victory of the expected yes here, supporters of independence are well aware that this is not the end of the road. "But it's already hugesays Rosemay, a 46-year-old unemployed Kanak. Our parents, our grandparents struggled to achieve independence, made sacrifices. Today, this may not be the end, but it is a beginning, an important step. It is already a great pride to have been able to express our will. And do it in peace. Because we, here, are no longer extremists as before, we have been able to go to others. "

The alumni, those who took part in the events of the 1980s, also want to hope that a new page turns. "We Kanaks have always reached out. It's rooted in our culture and our educationRalph says, the hair and beard bleached by the years. This election is the culmination of a long way, too long. Thirty years is too long. This is an important day, whatever the outcome. But the Europeans must admit that we are at home, that sooner or later there will be independence. "

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"Here we are not in France, we are in Caledonia"

Jean-Louis, 70, a former wheeler (who transported the ore in a truck), was born in New Caledonia but is one of those old caldoches families who have arrived on the territory for generations. He lives like a "Mestizo" and filed a ballot for the yes.

"What happened in 1984 was because of the abuseshe badures in a sharp accent. But if it goes on like this, there will be the same thing. People here claim their rights. Here, we are not in France, we are in Caledonia. So, yes, I voted for independence, because it's their right. "

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It is past noon. The flow of voters has subsided. Assessors, city hall employees, delegates from the control committee meet around a well-stocked table. No incident, for the moment has been reported.