Article I of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” This statement represents what the United Nations believes is inevitable to the definition of Human Rights. Unfortunately, the beliefs of the UN do not carry to every corner of the earth. Sex trafficking, slavery, rape, genocide, and racism occur in many countries around the world, in some cases such as in Darfur, more than one of these unacceptable phenomenon occur at a constant rate.
“The Translator” by Daoud Hari, is a book that illustrates a portion of Daoud’s life in a hope of reaching out to anyone he can and get the story of Darfur on the political map. “I bring the stories to you because I know most people want others to have good lives, and, when they understand the situation, they will do what they can to steer the world back toward kindness.” The book has three main purposes: to prove that genocide occurs in Darfur, to get Daoud’s point across to the readers and later on, people in power; to trigger people to act and aid the people that are being targeted in Darfur. He believes that all humans deep down have a desire for peace; they will do something to reach peace if they know of real accounts in different areas of the world and if they understand how they can help.
The book jumps straight into one of Daoud’s experiences. He is traveling through the jungles of Darfur along with a driver and working as a translator for a filmmaker from Britain. This story is very important for it shows just how dangerous life in the midst of civil wars can be. The land rover in which they are traveling comes to a stop when they are face to face with six land rovers of a rebel group. They tell Daoud, “Daoud Ibarahaem Hari, we know all about you. You are a spy. I know you are Zaghawa like us, not Arab, but unfortunately we have some orders, and we have to kill you now.” (The Zaghawa people are a tribe in Darfur, they are known for quotation-mark-like scars on their temples and are usually easily recognized by them) As Daoud is kneeling with the barrel of the rifle pressed against his head, the filmmaker tells everyone to stop and calls the rebel group’s leader who he had met earlier on one of his film projects. The leader ordered his troops to not kill Daoud for he was only a translator. This event is very memorable as you become directly aware of life in Darfur, from the start of the book.
Throughout the book, Daoud tells of stories that are truly gut-wrenching and horrific. There are several accounts in which Daoud comes close to death, and many more in which he sees death take control of people that he knows, right in front of his eyes. An atrocious example of one event is about a man of whom he hears a story about. This man was running from the rebel troops as they were attacking his once peaceful village and bombarded it with Ak-47’s and RPG’s. With his 4 year old daughter by the hand, this man ran as fast as he could. Just before reaching the point of escape, the Janjaweed (Arab militia group)() reached them. With nothing else for him to do, he told his daughter to run. “But she didn’t keep running; she watched from some bushes as they beat me and tied me to a tree...” The Janjaweed men began to beat him to the point of barely having consciousness. His daughter could not hold back, “she ran toward me and called out, Abba, Abba. ” (Abba means Daddy). The story of this man becomes only more dreadful. “The Janjaweed man who had tied me to the tree saw my daughter running to me. He lowered his rifle and he let her run into his bayonet. He gave it a big push. The blade went all the way through her stomach. She still cried out to me, ‘Abba! Abba!’”
“The Translator” by Daoud Hari, is a book that illustrates a portion of Daoud’s life in a hope of reaching out to anyone he can and get the story of Darfur on the political map. “I bring the stories to you because I know most people want others to have good lives, and, when they understand the situation, they will do what they can to steer the world back toward kindness.” The book has three main purposes: to prove that genocide occurs in Darfur, to get Daoud’s point across to the readers and later on, people in power; to trigger people to act and aid the people that are being targeted in Darfur. He believes that all humans deep down have a desire for peace; they will do something to reach peace if they know of real accounts in different areas of the world and if they understand how they can help.
The book jumps straight into one of Daoud’s experiences. He is traveling through the jungles of Darfur along with a driver and working as a translator for a filmmaker from Britain. This story is very important for it shows just how dangerous life in the midst of civil wars can be. The land rover in which they are traveling comes to a stop when they are face to face with six land rovers of a rebel group. They tell Daoud, “Daoud Ibarahaem Hari, we know all about you. You are a spy. I know you are Zaghawa like us, not Arab, but unfortunately we have some orders, and we have to kill you now.” (The Zaghawa people are a tribe in Darfur, they are known for quotation-mark-like scars on their temples and are usually easily recognized by them) As Daoud is kneeling with the barrel of the rifle pressed against his head, the filmmaker tells everyone to stop and calls the rebel group’s leader who he had met earlier on one of his film projects. The leader ordered his troops to not kill Daoud for he was only a translator. This event is very memorable as you become directly aware of life in Darfur, from the start of the book.
Throughout the book, Daoud tells of stories that are truly gut-wrenching and horrific. There are several accounts in which Daoud comes close to death, and many more in which he sees death take control of people that he knows, right in front of his eyes. An atrocious example of one event is about a man of whom he hears a story about. This man was running from the rebel troops as they were attacking his once peaceful village and bombarded it with Ak-47’s and RPG’s. With his 4 year old daughter by the hand, this man ran as fast as he could. Just before reaching the point of escape, the Janjaweed (Arab militia group)() reached them. With nothing else for him to do, he told his daughter to run. “But she didn’t keep running; she watched from some bushes as they beat me and tied me to a tree...” The Janjaweed men began to beat him to the point of barely having consciousness. His daughter could not hold back, “she ran toward me and called out, Abba, Abba. ” (Abba means Daddy). The story of this man becomes only more dreadful. “The Janjaweed man who had tied me to the tree saw my daughter running to me. He lowered his rifle and he let her run into his bayonet. He gave it a big push. The blade went all the way through her stomach. She still cried out to me, ‘Abba! Abba!’”
Stories of ordinary, peaceful people being slaughtered in Darfur are no surprise. Many people in Sudan suffer and are eternally scarred from the death, rape, and beatings that they see happen in front of them. Daoud Hari portrays only a limited amount of the events that occur. “The Translator” depicts moments of the lives of the people of Darfur, including their daily struggle and hope for survival. The book demonstrates how Daoud wants to tell people of the horrid events in his home country, to urge people to make a change out of love, and prove that genocide has battered Darfur.
Genocide is defined as: deliberate extermination of a people or nation. At the beginning of the book, Daoud Hari explains how he believes that genocide is occurring in Darfur, with the targeted group being the tribespeople and natives to Africa. The stories that are told in every part of the book shows, in detail and with clarity, how the government in Sudan is deceitful and untrustworthy.
Daoud makes an argument in which he states that the people of his land understand how the government works and manipulates. The Arab government that is currently in power attempts to wipe out all of the native Africans by lying to rebel groups. There are many rebel groups in Darfur; they are constantly agreeing to peace contracts with the government that will promise peace for the group if they in return attack and defeat another rebel group that may be causing problems to the government. The government of Sudan is the one that overlooks all of the terror that occurs between the same people. The native Africans have turned against one another in the quest to survive. The targeted group has been dying out for past few years due to all of the hostility that the government instills on rebel leaders’ minds. With the constant change in peace contracts with the rebel groups, the people suspect no end to the massacre. I believe that throughout the book, Daoud clearly proves his point and will convince many that genocide is truly in existence in Darfur.
Another argument that is made in the book is that the people of Africa are not malicious, but instead very kind; the only reason they join the war is to survive. Daoud explains how the Zaghawa are thoughtful of others throughout the coarse of the book. As he explains the way they live, you learn of what Daoud thinks of his people. They are all a big family, everyone in the village knows everyone, and for the most part, most of them are in someway related. There is also Sheik for every village, that helps care for any visitor or person in need. Daoud shows his people’s affection towards animals when he speaks of camels and how they are very valuable and very helpful around the household, even to the point that they are loved so much that they are treated as family. Although he promotes his people’s kindheartedness, there are still Zaghawa and of course other Africans that join the rebel groups. Daoud believes that men and boys join the war because they see no other alternative. Some people believe that they will become powerful and be able to protect their families, or that as long as they are a part of a group, they will at least have a constant source of food and protection. Others have lost all of their family and see no point in running, instead they allow rage and vengeance to control their thoughts and decide to enter a rebel group. When Daoud is in Chad translating the interviews between refugees and reporters, he makes it clear that this is why his people join the armies and militias. There are several examples that prove him right. A man once asked him, “Am I a woman who should stay in this camp, or a man who should go fight, and leave my wife and son without protection?” There are many issues that engross the mind of the family member during these times. A trend of confusion from the refugees and victims is seen throughout the book.
Daoud also states that he believes that people “...will do what they can to steer the world back toward kindness.” In the introduction and in the acknowledgements sections of the book, he conveys a voice that pleads for a chance to enter your heart, and convince you to do something for his people. “I have seen and heard many things in Darfur that have broken my heart.” He clearly understands what needs to be done. The way to allow aid to enter Darfur is to reach out to other countries and tell a few of the stories that he has witnessed. Daoud argues that the leaders of the world are capable of resolving the problem in his country, and that this book can reach them. “The leaders of the world can solve this problem, and the people of Darfur can go home, if the leaders see that people everywhere care deeply enough to talk to them about this. So, if you have the time, perhaps you can do so.” He has lived through many near death experiences and believes that there is a purpose for all of his troubles. “For it has no meaning to take risks for new stories unless the people who read them will act.”
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