Exile, as I said, the times when exile is no longer justifiable, because to quote what Nadine Gordimer said about Jean-Paul Sartre, “No matter how justifiable a reason a writer might have or stay in exile, the writer ends up losing quite a lot.” ((Certain Things About Home, Have To Live)) And I think that is true. One loses a lot. You lose the idea of language, not the language in which you write, but the language in which you dream. ((Hate The Person You’re Talking About, Punning)) You lose familiar landscape. ((Belgium, Your Own Country)) You make new friendships. You develop new identities, and God knows so many people have made it possible for me to stay in exile, no matter where I might have found myself, the United States, Nigeria or the Philippines.

But there are times when you feel a deep sense of loneliness. But then again, I think that is from being a writer, because the writer technically goes into exile. He doesn’t become an immigrant. Most writers who emigrate are miserable. They’re always looking back. ((Hidden Stories, Looking Back)) So, yes, so I have been going back to Sierra Leone lately, so I am, as it were, reconnecting with my country and I am looking forward to spending more time in Sierra Leone ASAP.