What is the theme in And They Didn't Die by Lauretta Ngcobo?

Government oppression is a major theme. This novel is set in South Africa during the apartheid that left many blacks imprisoned for their protests against their government. The government made laws that kept the blacks housed in particular parts of the country, forcing workers to live in overcrowded homes in a specific part of town while their families were left in the country, forced to work specific parcels of land that were often parched and unsuitable for even the most basic of farming. These people were not allowed to travel freely, to keep their families together, to live a free and happy life.