University of Virginia Library

In Open Letter

Rhodesian Stand Up

The following article was written by
a resident of Umtali, Rhodesia, as an
open letter to the student body of the
University.

I am grateful for your invitation
to our Prime Minister to
speak to you there in Virginia.
I can assure you that Rhodesia
as a whole is grateful also.

I think our situation here is
misunderstood in most of the
world. The African here has a
lot more freedom than the African
in Zambia. For one thing they
have the freedom from fear, and
that is something that does not
exist in Zambia. There the person
that holds a good position is in
fear of his life as others are envious
of his position. If he is an
ordinary worker, he is afraid of
the other political party that is in
power. They were forced to go
and vote, with threats on their
property and person, mainly their
families.

There, since independence, the
rural African has suffered from
unemployment, as such a large
number of employers left the country,
has dropped and living expenses
have gone up tremendously.

Also the African has always
known the tribal system, where he
does not have to think or plan
for himself. That is done for him
by his chief and passed on to him
by the head men. When the white
people came and the Africans left
the chiefs' Kraal, they looked to
the European to do the duties of
the chiefs, so we had to sort out
their family troubles, feed them,
treat their wounds, etc. Now they
cannot return to the old way of
life, and they have no one to look
after them. Therefore they are an
unhappy lot.

They do not have faith in the
African government. They are
taxed higher, they have to join
unions and pay dues and they
get nothing for their money. That
is the rural African of course,
so, they are discontented, and do
not like to see the white man
leave.

I went from Rhodesia to N.
Rhodesia in 1954 and bought a
virgin farm. I took $15,000 there
and spent it developing that farm.
I built 14 tobacco barns plus grading,
bulking, and tying sheds all
brick under iron. Also fenced and
put in a power spray rod for
cattle. I built up a herd of 550
head of cattle. Everything I made
went back into that farm until
independence. In the meantime I
had lived in a pole and mud
house for several years until I
built a brick ranch type house.
We were happy there and two of
our children were born there, the
other was nearly two years old
when we went there.

We lived there until last October
24, 1967, their independence
day. We had come to the conclusion
some time ago that we
would have to leave as we could
not stand the strain of never knowing
when we might be deported
or what charge would be trumped
up against us, and the fact that
before being deported we might
have to stay in jail with no trial
for any length of time, so we
applied for permission to send our
furniture out. That was refused.
We couldn't sell the farm as no
one wanted to invest money in
land then and also the Land Board
had to OK any buyer you might
find, and that was out of the
question unless it was an African
buyer, and the African buyer was
told he was a fool to buy, as the
white people would be pushed out
and the land would be free.

So we packed what personal
possessions we could get in the
car and left the farm, equipment
and everything else we possessed
there and came across the Zambian
border into Rhodesia as tourists.
We have taken papers as Rhodesian
settlers now.

When I sold my cattle there all
the money was seized so I got
nothing for building up a herd
for 13 years.

I have come to Rhodesia now
and I intend to stay here. If I
must fight I will fight, but I cannot
live under a Government of
illiterate childish Africans.

I am sure you would feel the
same as Americans did so long
ago of Britain.

You do more than you realize
by just letting the world realize
that Rhodesia has some friends.
And thanks to Governor Byrd for
his stand too. I seem to remember
when I was going to Dan River
High School. Va. that we had a
Governor Byrd running for Gov.
then.