Hire a propagandists respected scholars will come for free
A leading title on Sudan Daily Al-Sahafa says: British Expert write about his visit to Khartoum and El-Fashir.(here is understandable why the Editor uses such title as the Sudanese in general do hold high anything British) Then deliberately underneath a picture of Bashir positioned to separate the title from the content (where too here I didn’t understand the choice of the pic. but the reader can guess) ,but then the name Alex de Waal placed before the first line of the content body to make it look he is the writer of the content, true maybe, but again the first few lines are clearly news report about the visit, which by any national newspaper editorial standard the editor name should have come first, while a few line after through the content (also misleading in regards to reference that the article has been published on leading European and British newspapers or presumably the editor wanted to say the Expert dose so with no reference to the blog where it was published) but a reference that the content is been translated by Mr Hashim Al-Hassn on the US Sudanese Community website, here also not clearly if the editor of such want to say: below is cut and paste of the translation of what Alex de Waal has wrote or an excuse for the unbelievable re-touch made to the content in translation to Arabic, first thought I jumped to (is our community in the US needed a translation from English to Arabic?) I guess not. and that beside the point here because whoever wrote, edit or translated the article proceeded clearly to make it look like straightforward by the letter translation, I’m afraid that wasn’t the case, again even when the beginning paragraphs after the inserted news report appears neat translation then a clever retouch followed.
First read de Waal article (The Politics of Exhaustion) posted on his blog; Making Sense of Darfur, Politics, then If you happen to have a little grasps of both Arabic and English you will not fail to notice the editorial and the hard work. Here some example from the Arabic verses and sentences given below that appears in the original article and the Arabic translation do speak volume about today media standard not the academic standard in Sudan media. Where I can understand a clear sentence like i.e.
*The President looks weary.
Is highly unlikely to appear in any content by the state advocate never mind written by an observer, but I can’t understand how such sentences like (* we have had enough) come to give this meaning in Arabic ;
و الله شبِعنا من التعب و الإرهاق»!
And i.e. ( *but not a wide sense of outrage which would mobilize society to end the killing.)
. و لكنه يا هداك الله جزع لم يتحوّل و يتطور ليصبح إحساساً عارماً بالغضب فيقود إلى تحشيد إيجابي مضاد ثم إلى حراك جماهيري شامل ضد القتل و الاقتتال و الاحتراب.
The insertion of (in the name of Allah) to the sentences above was to give it a religious ,native or the kind of a foreign dubbs of a tv series or movie kind flavor like the rest of the text, if I may say only speak about the translator than the writer or maybe he was present then, its ok not a big deal but I prefer straightforward translation, but then this one is also a piece of work;
*civil society spokesman said هكذا غمغم بها الناطق باسم إحدى منظمات المجتمع المدني
Which give the meaning that the civil society spokesman didn’t speak out but he mumbled quietly or whispering.
That’s all ok too, everything goes, but then having read the original article by Alex de Waal I couldn’t find some sentences anywhere in Alex de Waal article i.e.
* بل إنه لا داعي لأدنى ريبة قد تساورك في مقالي هذا
where clearly here Alex de Waal is asking the Arabic reader not to have any shred of a doubt about the content of his article!!
No..I think I will stop there. but for second thought after reading a comment made by a reader, I Google my way to the US Sudan community website where the editor claimed to obtain the Arabic translation and there it is, the writer or the translator Hashim Al-Hassn have stated clearly his translation was not professionally conducted but freely edited the content in translation and he did gave the reasons for doing so, also there I found the same point about the translation, made by another member of that blog or the translator.
And its not the professionalisms lacked here by Al-Sahafa editor in running the risk and ending up with an unprofessional translation or the translator free style, native or "sense- translation" that does not appear to be an appropriate for a national newspaper (I use the national journalist term very loosely) where both the national leading newspapers Al-Sahafa and Al-RayAl-am editorial are clearly a propagandist "parrots" of the ruling party and addicted to the habit of avoiding any issue with disinformation tactics in any arguments about the NCP too many issues that they want to debunk and discredit, this why always paid close attentions with suspicions mind to what they publish and too most Sudanese have many stories to tell about those two daily editorial standard.
Of course its not Al-Sahafa alone its twin state sponsored Al-Ray Al-am too has its own style again about Alex de Waal, but here the leading title this time says( American Expert ) sure its not appealing or maybe Alex internationalizing himself with each. Here its not all about poking our media if they just to refrain from bad practices, it is also there an interesting contradiction made in publishing the content of Alex de Waal article that didn’t helped me to come to understand what Alex de Waal call the (international intrusion into the running of the affairs of the nation)!.where surprisingly here I can remember the openly shown dismay by the same media and many of Bashir advisors and ministers during Abuja circus about the presence of Alex de Waal there then, and his insistence to be part of the negotiations. where many of them on record saw that as intrusion in one nation affairs!!.strange enough in Al-Ray Al-am interview with Alex de Waal said according to the newspaper he was invited to participate in Abuja negotiation by Salim Ahmed Salim the AU mediator this contradict Alex de Waal when himself said once how the late Majzob Al-Khalifa wasn’t amused and he had to seek the AU. and didn’t we all know the Sudan delegate neither the Darfurian insisted on him not before not now. I’m sure de Waal need to rephrase intrusion in one nation affair.
Again things change and Bashir men twists and turn cleverly toward the West or the East for a getaway card but they are not listening to Alex de Waal yesterday or today or for any reasoning by anyone certainly not from the Sudan many local Expert, and do we really forgotten just after Bashir was indicted by the ICC they invited score of foreign Jihadist, far right extremist, wanted terrorist, some are reportedly paid as much as 24 millions USD, just about anyone that hated the west from allover the world full board to share Bashir state media platform to impress or distract the fed up, suppressed but not dumb Sudanese audience, and they do that just for the sack of see who is now standing by us, no matter if this or that personality is critics of them or leading them stray.
More sickeningly to prove our point Bashir openly admitted on record to say: he is disappointed because they have paid too many westerns media and personality to visit Sudan then they found out that after they went back their reports has been purchased and censored by organization like Save Darfur?! Would you believe this?? And would you accepts an invitation from such a person that make his country invited visitors to look as if they are paid PR failed to do their job. my sincere advice to many not to associate themselves with this regime propagandists, again that become impossible when even if you are in academic fact finding visit made to look by their media that you are an investigative journalist and come to no finding or critics to say about them, and if you to criticize their oppositions first and help them clinch to power for another twenty years you are the one.
Our people struggle against this Mafia will never stop and they know very well we will never get tired till they are gone.
Our clear word to academics’ and propagandists too .Sudan problems and wars started when this Mafia Mushroomed from nowhere in 1982 and continued to this moment and will never ends before they are rooted out and off any aspect in our lives. Make no mistake No one want election before accountability with them and no more worthless waste of time agreements, or envoys. it’s Bashir Mafia or united peaceful Sudan basically .those who afraid for it to turn to another Somalia then they should stand up with the side they believe in or share its principle and values. I’m no Bush! But make your mind up.
If I can brow Abraham Lincoln say (they can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but they cannot fool all the people all the time).
Hatim El-Madani*
