Taking the Chicken Run

"No Rhodesian worth his salt will run away from the terrorist cowards who attack innocent women and children " So said Rhodesia's then Minister of Security Wickus De Kock in 1974. Times have changed. Earlier this month, De Kock now 45, took what his fellow white Rhodesians derisively call "the chicken run" or "the yellow route": he emigrated The former Cabinet minister explained that he strongly disagreed with the Smith government's negotiations toward black majority rule, adding, "I have certain convictions. I also have a life to lead." Once a millionaire tobacco grower De Kock is now helping his brother run a farm in South Africa

A growing number of his former countrymen are taking De Kock's way out. In May, the latest month for which figures are available, Rhodesia's white population of 270,000 declined by a record 1,339--an annual rate of about 16000 The real exodus could easily be twice what the official figures say it is; many departing whites, in order to avoid red tape and escape their military obligations, are simply going "on holiday" and not coming back.

Some emigrants are leaving because they have given up hope that white minority rule can continue and they want to avoid what a departing accountant delicately calls "the trauma of transition to black rule." Even whites who believe in Smith's cause wish to escape the crushing economic burden of military service; present regulations require white males over 18, after spending 18 months in the armed forces to serve an additional seven months a year until age 38 and thereafter, 70 days a year until age 50.

''It's too unpredictable. You can't see a decent life ahead for the kids," explains Electrician Clive Davey, who took the chicken run to South Africa this month after living in Rhodesia for 13 years. If there were a political settlement, would he change his mind? "No," he says firmly. "All that Rhodesia has left now is the sun." Ian Edwards, 33, a grain research specialist, emigrated last year to South Africa and later the U.S., leaving a vacant house near Salisbury that he could not sell. His parents stayed on in Rhodesia "They're too old to run," he says.

Many whites are determined to remain in Rhodesia even under a black government. Some feel they have no choice; their life savings are often tied up in farms and homes Others are deciding to cut their losses and leave. "Yes, we're taking the chicken run," says a Scottish automobile worker "but nobody wants to admit it publicly. If the word gets out, the revenue office will be breathing down your neck to see if you're not fiddling some extra cash out." An emigrant is entitled to take his household effects, his car and about $1,600 in cash--hardly enough to start a new life in another part of the . In Salisbury precious stones are selling at three to four times their real value because they are easy to smuggle out

Barrister Michael Ford, 35, left last year after spending 8 years in Rhodesia. The draft was hurting his practice and as a lawyer he was troubled that captured guerrillas were being tried as terrorists rather than as prisoners of war Unable to start a practice in Britain, he was unemployed for six months; after being refused permission to migrate to New Zealand or Hong Kong, he finally went into business with a friend in Johannesburg Ford predicts that in the future white Rhodesians may have an even harder time relocating than he did. "It follows you like a bad smell," he says bitterly of his Rhodesian connection, "No matter what you say, the stigma persists."

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