In spite of its brevity, Daoud Hari's "The Translator" is an important book. Daoud's words courageously shed light on the horrors taking place in Darfur. On July 14, 2008 the International Criminal Court in the Hague charged Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, with ten counts of war crimes, three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. The ICC Prosecution charges that President al-Bashir "masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part" three tribal groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity. As I write this in August 2010, over two years after the publication of "The Translator", President al-Bashir has not been brought to justice and the situation in the Sudan has become increasingly untenable. After a brief cease fire in February 2010, the killings in Darfur continue.
Daoud Hari remains exiled in the United States where his writing and speaking engagements continue to gather international support to end what many call genocide in Darfur. Hari's small volume, which chronicles his harrowing journeys across the war torn landscape, weighs heavily in the international discourse about Darfur. Daoud Hari's "The Translator" is a must read for the politically engaged.
