Choices In David Dauod's The Translator

Choices, Choices, Choices

The book The Translator tells the story of a brave man, Daoud “David” Hari, who came face-to-face with genocide. It is a perspective that is rarely ever seen and tells us of events that we hope to never see. Time and time again, David makes the choice to stand up for what he believes in – despite everyone and everything around him trying to force him in the opposite direction. David helps many people in many different ways, but he is so successful at doing so because he knows his role. He knows what he is good at and what he can do, because of this, he is very good at helping those in need. In the back of the book, we are asked a few different questions:

Dauod uses his language skills to help his people in the only way he

knows how – as a translator. Why is this role so important? How does this work help the people of Darfur? Others he knows have chosen to use guns. What do you think of this choice?
David is a very successful translator in Darfur. He helps troubled people in a time of great distress. This role is so important for many different reasons, but to me, there are two main reasons. The first reason is because people literally needed assistance in communicating between languages. It is nearly impossible to communicate with someone that does not speak the same language that you do. This is where David came in – he could be the bridge between two people and their languages. “The fact that I spoke Zaghawa, Arabic, and English made me useful to the aid people who were streaming into Chad” (Hari, 2008, p. 68). David does not try to help people by stepping outside of his talents – he does not try to heal injured people – rather he sticks to what he knows and what he is good at. Although I am not in a situation of helping those facing genocide, I have been in situations where I can help my teammates on the baseball field.

Like David, for me to be as successful as I can when helping those around me, I must know my role. In baseball, I am a fast and defensive player. When I play like that, I help my team a lot. When I step outside of my talents and try to play like a power hitter and do not put pride into my defense, then I am not helping my team. Like David, I must also know what my role is and I must take pride in it if I want to truly help as many people as I can. The second reason why the role of the translator is so important is because at many different times it also served as a counselor. David found himself in several different situations where he and those around him were dealing with tough decisions. In times like these, because of how courageous and calm David is, he could make good, confident decisions for not only himself, but also those around him. This work helps the people of Darfur in many different ways. He helps with communication and allowing people to communicate between languages. He also helps people by giving them important information. Many times the people of Darfur are without knowledge of what is happening around

them. David, though, knows helpful information – in which he shares with the people and allows them to have a better understanding of what is happening. He also helps, in many situations, with keeping people calm. According to Hari (2008), “You have to be stronger than your fears if you want to get anything done in this life” (p. 11). He leads by example and when those around him are faced with a frightening situation and David stays strong, it shows others near him that they, too, can stay calm. Although I am not in a situation to help people who are facing life-and-death scenarios, I am faced with times of when I can help by leading by example, like David. One of these times is when I am playing baseball. If our team ever gets down by a lot of runs, I know that I can help the team by simply remaining calm and knowing that the game is not over until the last pitch is thrown. Like David, I can help people by simply leading by example.
What is also neat and helpful about David is that he is so gentle. In surroundings of such violence and chaos, David stays calm and mild. He does not use guns and never turns to violence. His presence can calm those around him and he can turn a hostile situation into a one that is much more comforting. He could, rather, turn to violence to solve problems and carry with him a gun. There are many times in which he could use a gun for defense or to simply to leave people in fear. Rather, he does not. He makes this choice because of what he believes in and he sticks to it, despite it not being the easier and more convenient route to take. I respect this decision and commend his actions in standing up for his morals and not giving in to the pressure of violence. It is commendable any time someone can take the “road less traveled” when it is clearly not the easier path to take. Although I have never been in a situation of great distress like genocide, and had the option of whether or not to carry a gun, I have had situations in which my beliefs were brought into question – in which, I had to decide if I wanted to make the easy decision or the decision that stood behind my morals. One of these times was when I was playing high school baseball and several of the upperclassmen were bullying a freshman. This went on for several weeks and angered me very much. I could have very easily have turned to violence or other levels of disrespect to solve the problem, but rather, like David, I choose to help those in need in a nonviolent manner. I helped the freshman by talking with him daily and getting the coaches involved to help take care of the incident. There are always way to solve a problem without using violence.
Reading The Translator was very enjoyable. I thought it was an excellent book and told the story of something I had never imagined – genocide. It is an interesting perspective and a book that truly makes you question your own behavior. The book, and David, make me want to be a better person. I really did think this book was a good read and I am glad that it was included in our Core 7 reading list.