The compulsory moving of Africans from the suburbs of Johannesburg
to the new town of Meadowlands, which is scheduled to begin on February 12, may seem to Dr. Verwoerd, South African Minister of Native Affairs, to be no more than a move towards ensuring a more balanced distribution of black and white population, which will maintain the racial purity of the city slums intact. However, to Africans this forced removal from their homes must appear as an act of arbitrary tyranny, and it is no wonder Colonel Grobler, Deputy Commissioner of Police for the city, is worried. But when he speaks of African families anxious to move being Intimidated,' his words are full of unconscious irony. It must be a change for the present regime in South Africa to meet intimidation for which they themselves are not responsible, and it is a little late for members of Mr. Strydom's government to bemoan 'irresponsible agita- tion' and `dangerous attitudes' created by the present situa- tion. For that they have only themselves to thank. The violence will be of their making. Fortunately, there are still men like Father Trevor Huddleston, Mr. Alan Paton and Mr. Patrick Duncan to save the honour of the white race. Indeed, it is difficult to overestimate the importance for the future of the fact that there are white men willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with their African fellow-citizens.
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