In the movie, Donald Woods escapes with the manuscript of his book about Steve Biko. Actually, he had already written the book and smuggled it out page by page with visitors to his home while he was under the government's banning order, effectively sentencing him to house arrest.
By the time the Woods family escaped, the entire book was finished. But even if it were published under a pseudonym, the South African government would realize that only Woods could have written it. That would have landed him in prison because as a banned person, he could not publish anything either in or out of South Africa. It was the acid attack on his children, plus the desire to see his book published, that prompted their escape.
By the time the Woods family escaped, the entire book was finished. But even if it were published under a pseudonym, the South African government would realize that only Woods could have written it. That would have landed him in prison because as a banned person, he could not publish anything either in or out of South Africa. It was the acid attack on his children, plus the desire to see his book published, that prompted their escape.