Australians stranded in New Caledonia ‘running out of food’ amid civil unrest
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Upheavals in New Caledonia resulted in road barricades, torched cars and more, cutting off access to medicine and food.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SYDNEY – Australians stranded in New Caledonia are rationing food as they wait for a way out of the troubled Pacific island territory, after riots that killed four people, a traveller from Sydney said on May 18.
“The kids are definitely hungry because we don’t really have much option of what we can feed them,” Ms Joanne Elias said from a resort in the capital Noumea, where her family has been holed up since the unrest broke out this week.
“You can tell they are running out of food,” she told Reuters by phone, referring to the resort where they are staying.
The riots have been sparked by anger among indigenous Kanak people over a new Bill, adopted by MPs in Paris, that gives French people who have lived in New Caledonia for at least 10 years the right to vote.
Three nights of upheaval have resulted in burnt business premises, torched cars, looted shops and road barricades, cutting off access to medicine and food. A police officer was among those killed.
Hundreds of French police reinforcements began arriving in the French-ruled territory on May 17 in an effort to regain control of the capital.
Ms Elias, who arrived in the country on May 10 with her husband and four children, said she had been told to fill a bathtub in case water ran out, as food stocks dwindled.
“We don’t know how long we’re going to be here for,” she said, adding that her family was among about 30 Australians stuck at the Chateau Royal resort.
The resort declined to comment on the situation, citing security reasons.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a post on social media platform X on May 18 that Canberra was “working with authorities in France and New Caledonia, and like-minded partners including New Zealand, to assess options for Australians to safely depart”.
She added that Noumea’s La Tontouta International Airport remained closed and urged Australians “to exercise a high degree of caution in New Caledonia”.
The New Caledonia government said on May 17 the island had stocks of food for two months and the problem was distribution.
Operations to supply food and medicine to the public will begin with teams, including specialists in mine clearing, removing road barricades that were booby-trapped by activists, French officials have said. REUTERS
