The Hereros
In Face of Fear. By Freda Troup. (Faber. 7 2s. 6d.) Miss TROUP is the spokesman of Michael Scott, and Michael Scott is the spokesman of the Hereros, so that this book is more or less a dossier of the Herero case. It is only necessary to have a white skin to find the Hereros' story uncomfortable reading. They have experienced the rough edge of all the white man's arts„ from gun- powder to diplomacy, and the fact that they came off -worst at the hands of the Germans is no excuse for the treatment they have had at the hands of the South African Government since South-West Africa was turned into a mandatory. The_ tribal life of this great cattle-raising community has been broken up ana much of their land has passed into other hands. It may be difficult to judge what the best future for tribes like this would be, but the present state of affairs offers them neither dignity, hope, nor even a tolerable livelihood. As one Herero said: "The people who die are very many, but the children who are born are very few. It is since the Europeans came here that the people have been dying so fast Before, when it was the Herero land, there were not nearly so many people dying." It is Scott's achievement that he has used these people to prod at the world's conscience. How he came to be mixed up with their affairs, through his admiration for Gandhi and his direct experience of colour relations in South Africa. it also part of the book. But the biographical part is only incidental to the main theme—justice for the Hereros. E. C. H.
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