Another topic on many people's minds is the genocide in Darfur. Human rights activists have exposed this tragedy, and citizens from all over the world have been participating in relief efforts since. Our journalists go in to get the real story, often risking their lives to get the knowledge of what is happening out there.
What better way to learn about the horrors occurring than by a man who was forced out of Darfur himself? Daoud Hari is one such man, and he discusses his experiences in The Translator. After his village was attacked as a child, he was sent away to school, in order to provide his family with something his other brothers could not provide. He spent many years traveling, trying to earn money to help his family got home. Of course, his efforts landed him in more than one jail cell. After getting out of jail, though, he returned to his village, only to help his family out pending another attack by the Sudanese government. After all this, he decides to act as a guide to investigators and journalists seeking to learn the truth. Of course, he's wanted by both the Sudanese government and the government of the neighboring Chad, putting him in a rather precarious position.
I loved Hari's style of writing. It is simple and easy to read, and captures interest from the beginning. He frequently makes reference to his amazing luck of getting out of sticky situations, and truly honors all the members of family, adopted and genetic. He is truly represented as a good person, someone who does all he can to help his fellow man, whether that man be a member of his own tribe, a white man, or even an Arab man.
Beyond that, his story makes more real the horrors going on in Darfur and surrounding areas. One section of the book is even dedicated to showing the origins of this conflict, as seen by an African with a passing knowledge of Sudanese politics. But the stories of men, women, and children being killed, or simply dying from the elements, becomes more real. Hari describes these stories with little detail, and it's any wonder how he can deal with the pain and suffering he has not only seen, but also just heard about in his work.
I would most certainly give this book 5 of 5 stars, and would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the genocide.
Written by Chelle
The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur
by Daoud Hari
ISBN: 9781400067442
Hardcover
$15.64 on Amazon.com
