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The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfurby Daoud Hari
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:"I am the translator who has taken journalists into dangerous Darfur. It is my intention now to take you there in this book, if you have the courage to come with me." The young life of Daoud Hari-his friends call him David — has been one of bravery and mesmerizing adventure. He is a living witness to the brutal genocide under way in Darfur. The Translator is a suspenseful, harrowing, and deeply moving memoir of how one person has made a difference in the world — an on-the-ground account of one of the biggest stories of our time. Using his high school knowledge of languages as his weapon — while others around him were taking up arms — Daoud Hari has helped inform the world about Darfur. Hari, a Zaghawa tribesman, grew up in a village in the Darfur region of Sudan. As a child he saw colorful weddings, raced his camels across the desert, and played games in the moonlight after his work was done. In 2003, this traditional life was shattered when helicopter gunships appeared over Darfur's villages, followed by Sudanese-government-backed militia groups attacking on horseback, raping and murdering citizens and burning villages. Ancient hatreds and greed for natural resources had collided, and the conflagration spread. Though Hari's village was attacked and destroyed his family decimated and dispersed, he himself escaped. Roaming the battlefield deserts on camels, he and a group of his friends helped survivors find food, water, and the way to safety. When international aid groups and reporters arrived, Hari offered his services as a translator and guide. In doing so, he risked his life again and again, for the government of Sudan had outlawed journalists in the region, and death was the punishment for those who aided the foreign spies. And then, inevitably, his luck ran out and he was captured.... The Translator tells the remarkable story of a man who came face-to-face with genocide — time and again risking his own life to fight injustice and save his people. Review:"'Unique,' a word avoided by most journalists, is just the first to describe this heart-stopping memoir, written by a native Darfuri translator who, after escaping the massacre of his village by the genocidal Janjaweed, returned to work with reporters and UN investigators in the riskiest of situations. Taking readers far from their comfort zones, Hari charts the horrific landscape of genocide in the stories of refugee camp survivors: 'It is interesting how many ways there are for people to be hurt and killed, and for villages to be terrorized and burned... I would say that these ways to die and suffer are unspeakable, and yet they were spoken: we interviewed 1,134 human beings over the next weeks.' Danger is rampant, especially at border crossings, and the effect on outsiders is profound: 'Some of the BBC people had to return to Chad, where they were in a medical clinic for three days to recover from what they saw, and smelled, and learned.' Homey facts about the loyalty of camels, the pecking order in villages and vast family networks bring respite from more dire tales, including Hari's long, multi-site imprisonment with a U.S. journalist and their Chadian driver. The captives' endurance through uncertainty and torture is unbelievable, and their eventual rescue reads like James Bond by way of boldface politicos like recent presidential contender Bill Richardson. Throughout, Hari demonstrates almost incomprehensible decency; those with the courage to join Hari's odyssey may find this a life-changing read. A helpful appendix provides a primer on the Darfur situation." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Book News Annotation:Hari is a Zaghawa tribesman who grew up in a village in the Darfur
region of Sudan. When the most recent Darfur conflict erupted in
2003, Hari escaped to refugee camps in Chad, where he became a
translator for major news organizations and aid groups, including the
The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, NBC, BBC, and the United
Nations. Now a resident of Boston, he is one of only four Darfuris
who has reportedly been granted refugee status in the U.S. in the
past four years. His memoir offers general readers an inside look at
the conflict in Darfur and will further increase global awareness
about the ongoing atrocities in the Sudan. Included in the appendices
are a primer on the history of the Darfur region and current
situation, and the text of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. No subject index.
Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Review:"A book of unusually humane power and astounding moral clarity: evenhanded but pointing a reproachful finger at all the right targets." Kirkus Reviews Synopsis:This tribesman's memoir of Darfur tells the remarkable story of a man who came face-to-face with genocide, often risking his own life to fight injustice and save his people.
About the AuthorDaoud Hari was born in the Darfur region of Sudan. After escaping an attack on his village, he entered the refugee camps in Chad and began serving as a translator for major news organizations including The New York Times, NBC, and the BBC, as well as the United Nations and other aid groups. He now lives in the United States and was part of SaveDarfur.org's Voices from Darfur tour. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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