Originally published on the CGS blog on May 16, 2007.
If you haven’t heard Daoud Ibarahaem Hari’s story yet, you should. For a man who has traveled with New York Times‘ columnist Nick Kristof and other acclaimed journalists, has been detained and tortured by the Sudanese government, and is only one of three officially resettled Darfuri refugees in the United States, Daoud has quite a story to tell.
I was honored to have breakfast this morning with Mr. Hari and his lawyer from Holland & Knight here in Washington, D.C. Along with about a dozen or so other representatives from D.C. non-profits, I listened to Mr. Hari’s story with awe and astonishment. For someone who has suffered a great deal in his life, Daoud spoke with great clarity and composure.
You see, Daoud is one of the fortunate few to escape death in Darfur: he made it safely to a refugee camp in Chad after his village was attacked. He told us this morning that he still can?t believe he has all of his limbs and other body parts in tact. But Daoud could not stay in that refugee camp, for he felt a responsibility to his people to help the world see and understand Darfur’s plight. He became a translator for various foreign journalists traveling in Chad and Darfur to report on the crisis. On one of his trips, he was kidnapped with Chicago Tribune writer Paul Salopek. Daoud and Paul were eventually released due to pressure from the international community, most notably during New Mexico Governor and presidential candidate Bill Richardson‘s visit to Sudan.
Daoud’s story is only one of hundreds of thousands that we need to hear ? and need to tell ? about what is going on in Darfur. These voices from Darfur remind us of the absolute importance of international action to end the atrocities in Darfur now and build a sustainable peace in the region.
Daoud is now safely resettled in the United States, but he has not ceased to tell his story and the story of Darfur to all who will listen. Daoud continues to tell his story because he knows: the lives of millions of Darfurians and Chadians depend on it.
