The writer and politician has died at the age of 73
Déwé Gorodey, the first Kanak novelist and a pioneer in the struggle for independence in New Caledonia, died on Sunday 14 August at the age of 73. She had been suffering from cancer for many years.
The New Caledonian government paid tribute to a “pro-independence politician and Kanak writer of international renown, who marked the life” of the government, of which she was a member for twenty years. From 1999 to 2019, she was in charge of culture, the status of women and citizenship.
The FLNKS, the historic political coalition of the Kanak struggle, saluted “a great lady of heart and spirit”, who “has always fought for the freedom of her people and the full sovereignty of her country”.
Author of the first published Kanak novel
Déwé Gorodey is the author of several collections of short stories, aphorisms and a play. In 2005, this feminist activist published L’Épave, the first published Kanak novel, which breaks the taboo of sexual abuse and violence against women.
Photo: Dewe Gorodé is shown here with Paul Néaoutyine, historical leader of the Palika.
