“When I hear someone cutting down a tree, or shots fired during hunting season, I think about what we experienced. We were afraid for us, and for our children.» For three weeks, Melanie Ménager33 years old, and her two children Kinnay and Elsee, respectively 8 and 3 years old, are staying at Serifontainein the far west of the Oise, at Céline, Mélanie’s sister. Touched by the riots in New Caledoniathe small family fled the island to try to rebuild their lives in the mainland.
A native of Val-d’Oise, Mélanie Ménager crossed the planet to live in New Caledonia eleven years ago, in 2013, when she was only 22 years old. “I was a crepe maker, my boss opened a creperie thereshe says. With the whole team, we joined him. It was a unique opportunity to have such an experience!» Fulfilled by this island life on the other side of the world, Mélanie founded her little family there. When her son came, the young woman changed careers and began doing housework. “Life there was great, heavenly, there is sunshine every day, she remembers, a bit nostalgic. It’s beautiful, the people are great…»
May 2024, the beginning of hell
But this idyllic life ended in May 2024, when the first riots began on the island. The beginning of real hell. “We lived in the Rivière salée district, in Nouméa.explains the mother. We stayed locked in our homes for a month. Outside, we saw people being attacked with swords or machetes. It was terrifying. Especially for us white people. Then there was a curfew, established until 6 p.m. We took the children out between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. We stayed in our street, we blocked it to keep our children safe.»
During this strange period, it was necessary to keep the toddlers who could no longer go to school or carry out their traditional activities busy. “We didn’t necessarily think about doing school at homeadmits Mélanie. But rather to distract them so that they forget what is happening outside. And we avoided putting them in the heat of the action.»
Violence, insecurity and soaring prices
To feed yourself, you also had to organize yourself. In a way that was not necessarily very legal, neighbors helped each other to collect food and shared it among themselves. By taking certain risks. The neighborhood in which Mélanie lived was destroyed. “A medical center was ravaged, a college was burned. We could see the fire spurting. And at any moment, a gas station could explode. The parents managed to save two schools and a church.»
In addition to violence and daily insecurity, residents have had to endure soaring prices. “Absolutely everything has increasedtestifies Mélanie. And almost all of my neighbors lost their jobs. I was self-employed, but I was no longer working, so I was no longer paying myself. So when you have more money, what do you do?» It was at this moment that the mother began to think about leaving, about returning to mainland France.
Return to mainland France, to Sérifontaine
At the beginning of December, she arrived with her two children at her sister Céline’s house in Sérifontaine. The latter set up a room for them, while waiting for Mélanie to find accommodation in the area. Because for work, it’s been done for a few days: she signed a contract in a personal service and home help agency, in the neighboring department of Eure. Her eldest goes to school in Sérifontaine, and her youngest will start her first year next September. For now, she wants to stay in the sector. “It’s quiet here. I’ve taken to the rhythm of the islands, that suits me», she smiles. “Yes, slowly in the morning, not too quickly in the afternoon», says his sister, teasingly. “Now that I’m with my sister, I want to stay with herbreathes Mélanie. And my children are safe.»
However, it does not put any barriers to a return to New Caledonia in the future. “As I lived there for more than ten years, I am considered Caledonian. My children are Kanaks. I’ll give it some time, we’ll see. But I would still like to go back.»
In the meantime, Mélanie continues to keep in touch with her former neighbors in Nouméa. Some, like her, plan to return to mainland France. To get treatment, or simply to return to a normal life and a job.
