ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
The Translator:
A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur
Class Packet
http://savedarfur.org/
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
Map
From: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/africa/sudan/
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?
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
Summary
From Booklist
Daoud, a Zaghawa tribesman in northern Darfur, fled his village, which was under 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 for award-winning reporters with the New York
Times, Chicago Tribune, and BBC. 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: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/productdescription/1400067448/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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?
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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.
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Page #
meaning
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Page #
meaning
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Page #
meaning
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Page #
meaning
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Page #
meaning
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Page #
meaning
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Page #
meaning
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ESL 5B R/W; Fall, 2011
Instructor: Chris Conley
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Page #
meaning