Africa: Whites Wanted

South Africa's whites are in dire danger of being swamped by sheer numbers. Today, the 3,000,000 "Europeans" are outnumbered by almost 13 million blacks, colored half-castes and Asians. By the year 2000, the surplus of nonwhites will be at least 14 million. Frightened by this prospect. Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd is sending recruiting agents all over Europe to correct the imbalance by immigration.

In a rash of newspaper ads and lecture tours, white South Africans are putting forth their country's inducements: job opportunities, a sunny climate, a bountiful subsidy to help pay travel and settling-in costs for the white newcomers. But the government faces an impossible task in its goal of gaining 40,000 additional whites a year, for the number of people who emigrate from South Africa each year, out of disillusion or fear, almost balances the number of immigrants. Last year there were 16,319 newcomers as against 14,392 emigrants, leaving a narrow net gain of only 1,927.

This year Verwoerd is pumping $4,200,000 into the immigrant assistance program, has urged private organizations to help South Africa's campaign overseas. Only a few years ago, the Afrikaner regime was discouraging immigrants from Britain for fear of losing control in the bitter political struggle of white Boers against white Anglo-Saxons that outlived the Boer War. Now that the Afrikaners are firmly in power, even the British-dominated 1820 Memorial Settlers' Association is being invited to help find white immigrants in Britain itself. The government's first task is to help find 1,000 doctors, teachers, lawyers and other professional people to replace those who packed up and left South Africa in the past year or two because they could not stand the place any longer.