The words above are taken from Can Themba's piece on Alfred Hutchinson's memoir of his escape from South Africa into exile, Road to Ghana. In reviewing it, typically, Themba injects his voice and opinions about the effects of exile and the brain drain it was causing.

Themba fought to remain, staying on at Drum until Tom Hopkinson fired him in 1959. Even then, he remained in South Africa, watching his contemporaries stream out of the country in droves. Many of his colleagues left the country long before he did. Ezekiel Mphahlele left in 1957, Arthur Maimane in 1958, Bloke Modisane in 1959, Todd Matshikiza in 1960, and Lewis Nkosi in 1961. When Themba finally went into exile in 1962, of the illustrious 1950s’ pantheon of Drum writers, he left behind only Casey Motsisi and Nat Nakasa, who was writing for the Rand Daily Mail and preparing to launch his magazine, The Classic. Nakasa was to leave South Africa on a one-way exit permit in 1964.

A strong case can be made that by going to Swaziland, Themba was conceding defeat; and, like his other colleagues, he did not survive the exile experience. He was already on course for destruction, and going into exile did not reverse or even halt his downward spiral. While he did not wish to leave South Africa, the apartheid government made it impossible for him to stay, no matter how much he tried to hang on. In ‘Requiem for Sophiatown’, he asksa rhetorical question: ‘What about our African intellectuals who leave the country just when we need them the most?’

This question, which Themba never followed up with further argument, is doubtlessly key in reflecting his sentiments on exile. He believed in supporting the development of his country and fostering change from within. This view is reflected in an interview he did for an American TV documentary, Changing World, where he repudiated apartheid ‘because … it does not allow a man to have an opportunity to contribute to the development of South Africa, and he is prepared to throw in everything he's got to make this country a viable country, a beautiful country’.