The Translator - A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur: Sarah Baird

Posted At : February 10, 2009 1:00 AM
Related Categories: Personal Narratives

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Excerpted from The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari, published by Random House.

Read by Sarah Baird: "I believe it is important, in this gloomy sub-zero weather, to be reminded of how fortunate I am, and how I really have no right to complain." Sarah is a prodigal Alaskan, back from five years of studying and working in Washington, D.C., and still dubious about her ability to survive the winters. She is the community coordinator for Anchorage Public Library's ANCHORAGE READS program, and hopes you will look out for upcoming events on the website.

Daoud Hari grew up in the Darfur region of Sudan. In his book, The Translator, he describes the harrowing ordeal that followed his capture for associating with journalists:

"I watched the commander's finger pet the trigger. The gun muzzle was hot against my temple. Had he fired it recently, or was it just hot from the sun? I decided that if these were about to be my last thoughts, I should try some better ones instead. So I thought about my family and how I loved them and how I might see my brothers soon.
...
The two commanders talked at length. I watched his trigger finger rise and fall like a cobra and then finally slither away. ...

To not get killed is a very good thing. It makes you smile again and again, foolishly, helplessly, for several hours. I was not shot -- humdallah."

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