Dear IF readers,

International Family Magazine hopes to share the stories of many families and peoples around the world. IF mag also works to commit to global giving to areas that are without the means to shelter family or in the midst of disaster. Darfur is in the midst of disaster and has been for a long while now. In our October, 2006 issue of IF mag we reviewed the organization http://www.savedarfur.org that is building awareness for the crisis of genocide in Darfur. They are involved in sponsoring “Voices from Darfur” that books speaking engagements of Darfur refugees that spread the word on the genocide in hopes to bring awareness, intervention and change.

One of the voices of the refugess from Darfur is Daoud Hari. He has published a book, “The Translator”. As I began to take up the journey of discovery of Africa with you my readers, I thought to pick up Hari’s book and read his story. I did not know I would find such an exquisite storyteller. His introduction alone has me mesmerized. To have gone through the tragedy of watching so much death and to still believe in people as good, it is an honor to listen to him. Please pick up his book, “The Translator”. You can buy it at a local bookstore or online at http://www.amazon.com. For more information on Hari and his book, go to http://www.thetranslator-book.com.

But let me quiet my voice so you can hear Hari’s voice a moment. And then if enchanted by the storyteller as myself, go buy the book, and listen, listen, listen. And then get involved because once we have heard someone’s story, we are involved in their life and therefore accountable to it. An excerpt from Hari’s introduction:

“If God must break your leg He will at least teach you to limp: - so it is said in Africa. This book is my poor limping, a modest account that cannot tell every story that deserves telling. I have seen and heard many things in Dafur that have broken my heart. 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 to kindness. This is when human beings, I believe, are most admirable.”

I picked up Hari’s book to hear the story of Darfur. And somehow in all the tales of Darfur’s misery, I am salved by a man who somehow is teaching me how to forgive my own trespassors. God bless Daoud Hari. What a gift of a story, “The Translator” gives the world. I hope from this blog entry, many will go and buy his book. And then click on to www.savedarfur.org, write a letter to your congressman, buy a bracelet, and hear Hari’s story. You will be grateful for your life in a way you have never been before. Because you will hear a man tell a life that is beyond horrifying, and you will hear his gentle soul, and feel first shame and then resolve to live better. Thank you Daoud, thank you, Cat Wayland

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