The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur
The Translator is an incredible memoir of one man's courageous method of coping with immense tragedy. Once the brutal militia groups backed by the Sudanese government began attacking villages in Darfur, Hari fled with hundreds of thousands of other refugees across the border to Chad. There, he began work as an interpreter for foreign journalists, a choice that caused him to return again and again to the most dangerous parts of Darfur, where he was often threatened with death or imprisonment.
Quote:
"It helps many people just to have someone listen and write their story down; if their suffering is noted somewhere, by someone, anyone, then they can more easily let loose of it because they know where it is."
Author:
Daoud Hari worked for several years as an interpreter, helping journalists document the fighting and atrocities committed in Darfur. He was jailed in 2006 for his work, alongside journalist Paul Salopek and their driver. After his release, Hari moved to the United States and began work on The Translator.
Published: 2008
Length: 190 pages
Set in: Darfur, Sudan