ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011

Instructor: Chris Conley

The Translator:

A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur

Class Packet


Map

From:

1. Where is Sudan?

2. What is the capital?

3. What countries are around Sudan?

4. What important river runs through the country?

5. From the Introduction of the book,

a. Where is Darfur?

b. What is the land like (wet, dry, mountains, etc)

c. How big is Darfur?

Summary

From Booklist

Daoud, a Zaghawa tribesman in northern Darfur, fled his village, which wasunder attack by Sudanese militiamen, in 2003. His brother was killed and his family driven into exile across Sudan. Lamenting the demise of old traditions that called for the settlement of disputes among ethnic groups with peaceable dinners in one another’s homes, Daoud fought back in his efforts as a translator to help document the carnage in his native land. In this first-person account, Daoud recalls imprisonment in Egypt, suffering in refugee camps, and efforts by ordinary Sudanese to hold onto families and hope in the face of genocide. Daoud worked as a translator for a British filmmaker and foraward-winning reporterswith theNew York Times, Chicago Tribune, andBBC. As a translator for UN investigators of genocide, Daoud listened to stories told slowly and quietly, feeling emotions the tellers dared not let themselves feel. Daoud writes beautifully and simply,offering insight, relaying the analysis of the reporters he worked with, and demonstrating the power of a man emotionally vested in the story being told. --Vanessa Bush

About the Author

Daoud Hari was born in the Darfur region of Sudan. After escaping an attack on his village, he entered the refugee camps in Chad and began serving as a translator for major news organizations including The New York Times,NBC, and the BBC, as well as the United Nations and other aid groups. He now lives in the United States and was part of SaveDarfur.org's Voices from Darfur tour.

Questions

  1. Who is the author?
  2. Where is he from? Be specific.
  3. What tribe does Daoud belong to?
  4. What happened in 2003?
  5. How did Daoud fight back?
  6. How did people traditionally settle arguments?
  7. Who did Daoud work for?
  8. What happened to his family?
  9. Where does he live now?

From:
Context

When we find words that we don’t know, we can understand them by reading the sentences before and after this word. Then we can make a good guess at the meaning.

Fold this paper in half. Guess what the meaning of “Janjaweed” is. Don’t use a dictionary or friend. Write or draw a picture of your thoughts.

Read from the book, page12:

It is also believed that the government pays some of the traditional Arab people, many tribes of whom are otherwise our friends, to form deadly horseback militias called the Janjaweed to brutally kill the non-Arab Africans and burn our villages. The word “Janjaweed” may be from an ancient word meaning “faith warriors” or it may be a combination of words meaning “evil spirits on horse,” or some believe it just means “gunmen on horseback.”

So what is Janjaweed

Does your picture look like that?
Homework 1: Appendix A, Introduction, Chapters 1

Name: ______

Date: ______

Comprehension Questions

1. Who are the 2 main groups of people fighting in Darfur? What other groups are there?

______

2. Who are the “Lost Boys?”

______

3. Why does Daoud have 2 names: Daoud and Suleyman?

______

4. What do you think? Why does Daoud keep risking his life by going in and out of Darfur?

______

Timeline

Look in only these chapters and create a timeline of important events in Darfur and Daoud’s life. You should be able to get at least 8-10 events.


Guess: Using the future tenses, what do you think will happen next in the book? (will, to be going to, might…) Don’t look at the next chapters.

I think that ______

______

Vocabulary from the chapter

Pick 10 new words for you, words you don’t know and want to learn. Write them below along with the page number. Then look them up in a dictionary. Use English.

Word / Page # / meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Homework 2: Chapters 2-4

Name: ______

Date: ______

Comprehension Questions

1. What is the traditional way to solve disputes between the Arabs and Zaghawa’s?

______

2. How is Darfur organized as in the 1500’s?

______

3. What are the conditions in Darfur and on the border with Chad?

______

4. What do you think? On page 11, Daoud writes “ You have to be stronger than your fears if you want to get anything done in this life.” What does this mean? Do you agree or disagree?

______

______

Summary

Using your own words (don’t copy from the book) and using the past tense, write a paragraph about the important events of these chapters. Think about what is most important.

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Guess: Using the future tenses, what do you think will happen next in the book? (will, to be going to, might…) Don’t look at the next chapters.

I think that ______

______

Vocabulary from the chapter

Pick 10 new words for you, words you don’t know and want to learn. Write them below along with the page number. Then look them up in a dictionary. Use English.

Word / Page # / meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Homework 3: Chapters 5-7

Name: ______

Date: ______

Comprehension Questions

1. What was Daoud’s dream? Did it come true?

______

2. In the old days, how would a sultan call people to fight a war?

______

3. What did the government troops attach to the bombs to kill more people?

______

What do you think? What information can you find about Daoud’s culture in these chapters?

______

Summary

Using your own words (don’t copy from the book) and using the past tense, write a paragraph about the important events of these chapters. Think about what is most important.

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Guess: Using the future tenses, what do you think will happen next in the book? (will, to be going to, might…) Don’t look at the next chapters.

I think that ______

______

Vocabulary from the chapter

Pick 10 new words for you, words you don’t know and want to learn. Write them below along with the page number. Then look them up in a dictionary. Use English.

Word / Page # / meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Homework 4: Chapters 8-11

Name: ______

Date: ______

Comprehension Questions

1. What did Daoud do to help himself get sleep and stop his nightmares?

______

2. How many people does he say have died and how many have been displaced (refugees)?

______

3. World aid groups sent shelters to help the refugees. What was wrong with the shelters?

______

4. What do you think? Daoud says on page 69 “You should always do what you need to do to be helpful.” What do you think about this statement?

______

5. Give one example of Daoud’s culture from these chapters: ______

Summary

Using your own words (don’t copy from the book) and using the past tense, write a paragraph about the important events of these chapters. Think about what is most important.

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Guess: Using the future tenses, what do you think will happen next in the book? (will, to be going to, might…) Don’t look at the next chapters.

I think that ______

______

Vocabulary from the chapter

Pick 10 new words for you, words you don’t know and want to learn. Write them below along with the page number. Then look them up in a dictionary. Use English.

Word / Page # / meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Homework 5: Chapters 12-14

Name: ______

Date: ______

Comprehension Questions

1. Why does Daoud sometimes not give us names of people or villages?

______

2. In chapter 13, why did the boys attacked the other village when they used to be friends?

______

3. What is different about NGO workers and reporters?

______

4. What do you think? Daoud says “You have to find a way to laugh a little each day, or your heart will simply run out of the joy that makes it go.” Do you agree? Disagree? Why?

______

Summary

Using your own words (don’t copy from the book) and using the past tense, write a paragraph about the important events of these chapters. Think about what is most important.

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Guess: Using the future tenses, what do you think will happen next in the book? (will, to be going to, might…) Don’t look at the next chapters.

I think that ______

______

Vocabulary from the chapter

Pick 10 new words for you, words you don’t know and want to learn. Write them below along with the page number. Then look them up in a dictionary. Use English.

Word / Page # / meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Homework 6: Chapters 15-18

Name: ______

Date: ______

Comprehension Questions

1. In the village that was thickly forested, where had the defenders died?

______

2. What does a Land Cruiser have that allows it to go deep in water?

______

3. Do the 14 year old soldiers go to war willingly?

______

4. What do you think? Can Daoud swim or not? Why, why not?

______

Summary

Using your own words (don’t copy from the book) and using the past tense, write a paragraph about the important events of these chapters. Think about what is most important.

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Guess: Using the future tenses, what do you think will happen next in the book? (will, to be going to, might…) Don’t look at the next chapters.

I think that ______

______

Vocabulary from the chapter

Pick 10 new words for you, words you don’t know and want to learn. Write them below along with the page number. Then look them up in a dictionary. Use English.

Word / Page # / meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Homework 7: Chapters 19-23

Name: ______

Date: ______

Comprehension Questions

1. What effect did Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib have in the war in Sudan?

______

2. In Chapter 21 why didn’t the young soldiers kill Daoud and Ail?

______

3. Why didn’t Daoud, Ali and Paul give information to the Sudanese commanders?

______

4. What do you think? On Page 139, Ali explains the young guards that many girls were killed and hurt. He asks if they would do this to girls and to Arab girls. He is saying that it is not good to harm even your enemy because they are your family, your human family. Are all humans your family? Should we think this way or not?

______

______

Summary

Using your own words (don’t copy from the book) and using the past tense, write a paragraph about the important events of these chapters. Think about what is most important.

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Guess: Using the future tenses, what do you think will happen next in Daoud’s life? In Darfur? I think that ______

______

Vocabulary from the chapter

Pick 10 new words for you, words you don’t know and want to learn. Write them below along with the page number. Then look them up in a dictionary. Use English.

Word / Page # / meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Homework 8: Chapters 24-27

Name: ______

Date: ______

Comprehension Questions

1. What were 2 conditions Daoud asked for if he was going to talk to his interrogators?

______

2. Why did the colonel take off his name badge and cover his name plate when talking with Daoud?

______

3. Who were some famous people trying to free Daoud, Paul and Ali?

______

4. What do you think? In chapter 24, Daoud intentionally lied to Paul. Do you think some times it is OK to lie? When?

______

Summary

Using your own words (don’t copy from the book) and using the past tense, write a paragraph about the important events of these chapters. Think about what is most important.

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Guess: Using the future tenses, what do you think will happen next? What will Daoud do? What will happen in Sudan? (will, to be going to, might…)

I think that ______

______

Vocabulary from the chapter

Pick 10 new words for you, words you don’t know and want to learn. Write them below along with the page number. Then look them up in a dictionary. Use English.

Word / Page # / meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.