The Translator: A Tribeman's Memoir of Darfur

Hari, Daoud

ISBN 10: 0739368583 ISBN 13: 9780739368589

Publisher: Random House, 2008

Synopsis

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 destroyedhis 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.
From the Hardcover edition.

About this title

Review:

"Pure, candid and deeply moving."
"-New York Post"

"["The Translator"] may be the biggest small book of this year, or any year. In roughly two hundred pages of simple, lucid prose, it lays open the Darfur genocide more intimately and powerfully than do a dozen books by journalists or academic experts."
"-The Washington Post Book World"

"A book of unusually humane power and astounding moral clarity."
"-Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)

"This is a book every American should read. . . . In the spirit of courage and a desire to protect his people, [Hari] has written an emotional yet gentle memoir."
"-Deseret Morning News"

"Heart-stopping . . . a life-changing read."
"-Publishers Weekly "(starred review)

Pure, candid and deeply moving.
" New York Post"
["The Translator"] may be the biggest small book of this year, or any year. In roughly two hundred pages of simple, lucid prose, it lays open the Darfur genocide more intimately and powerfully than do a dozen books by journalists or academic experts.
" The Washington Post Book World"
A book of unusually humane power and astounding moral clarity.
" Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
This is a book every American should read. . . . In the spirit of courage and a desire to protect his people, [Hari] has written an emotional yet gentle memoir.
" Deseret Morning News"
Heart-stopping . . . a life-changing read.
" Publishers Weekly "(starred review)"

Pure, candid and deeply moving.
New York Post
[The Translator] may be the biggest small book of this year, or any year. In roughly two hundred pages of simple, lucid prose, it lays open the Darfur genocide more intimately and powerfully than do a dozen books by journalists or academic experts.
The Washington Post Book World
A book of unusually humane power and astounding moral clarity.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This is a book every American should read. . . . In the spirit of courage and a desire to protect his people, [Hari] has written an emotional yet gentle memoir.
Deseret Morning News
Heart-stopping . . . a life-changing read.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

"Pure, candid and deeply moving."
-New York Post

"[The Translator] may be the biggest small book of this year, or any year. In roughly two hundred pages of simple, lucid prose, it lays open the Darfur genocide more intimately and powerfully than do a dozen books by journalists or academic experts."
-The Washington Post Book World

"A book of unusually humane power and astounding moral clarity."
-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"This is a book every American should read. . . . In the spirit of courage and a desire to protect his people, [Hari] has written an emotional yet gentle memoir."
-Deseret Morning News

"Heart-stopping . . . a life-changing read."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

About the Author:

Daoud 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 is part of  SaveDarfur.org’s Voices from Darfur tour. For more information about Hari and the conflict in the Darfur region, visit www.thetranslator-book.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0739368583
• ISBN 13: 9780739368589
• Binding: Audio CD