By: debbie lynn elias
Nick and George Clooney opened my eyes as to the horrors of the genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, together with filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern opened my conscience.
What has long been a seemingly “deep dark secret” to the world are the atrocities which began in Darfur in 2003 when greed reared its ugly head and a non-Arab rebel group desiring more power, wealth and autonomy for Darfur attacked a military airport. And as fate would have it, the Arab dominated government unleashed its own death squad in retaliation on the non-Arabs – the Janjaweed – which translated means “Devil on Horseback.” To this date, more than 400,000 deaths have occurred at the hands of the Janjaweed and some 3 million people have been uprooted and forced to seek refuge in neighboring Chad.
Following his completion of military service with the U.S. Marines, Brian Steidle was looking for the next path in life. He found it with African Union. When a call went out over the classified ads on the Internet for unarmed official military observers to document the atrocities in Darfur and then report to the AU so that measures could be taken to remedy the situation, Brian knew this was his calling. Do some time, make some money, head back to the States, buy a house and live a comfortable life. It was clear as day. But that clarity darkened when he arrived in Sudan and ultimately, in Darfur.
Adhering to his duties as an observer, Brian’s only weaponry was a pen, some paper and his camera. Within days of his feet touching the African soil, his senses were on overload. With his hands effectively tied and unable to do anything but shoot a camera (and shoot it he did), he as forced to bear witness to the Janjaweed riding in on horseback with torches blazing and guns at the ready, burning entire villages, raping women and children, castrating men, locking families in their huts and letting them burn together, shackling residents together, beating them, crushing their skulls, shooting them and then setting them afire. The carnage is shockingly unbelievable. An ethnic cleansing of Black Africans by its own government. Begging for help from the AU to intervene, his cries and that of his co-workers went unanswered but for lame excuses of “file your report and we will take care of it.” Out of over 80 reports filed in a six month time span only four – 4 – ever came to light.
After a year in the Sudan and 6 months in Darfur, Brian resigned his post. But not before he had taken over 1000 photos capturing every form of atrocity known to mankind on film. Frustrated and appalled at the situation in Darfur and the double-talk backstabbing of the AU and the Sudanese government, Brian left Africa with thousands of pages of notes and photographs, only to return to America in 2005 and discover that no one knew anything about Darfur let alone even be able to find it on the map. Tormented by his own conscience over what he had witnessed, Brian Steidle knew his path had to change yet again and he went to journalist Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times who broke Brian’s story in March of that year.
It was during this time that Brian hooked up with filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern and this moving documentary was born. Travelling back to Africa with Brian, who wanted to visit the refugee camps and bring himself current on the situation, the cameras started rolling, interviews were conducted with the refugees, Brian’s steps retraced and his story told, complete with the photos he shot and his narration. Horrifically graphic and distressing, THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK is powerful, intense and informative. This is not just Brian Steidle’s story, it is a story about humanity, good versus evil and the power within each of us to right terrible wrongs.
In light of the recent events in Darfur – the murder of a UN aid worker (one of only 180 in the area and far from the promised thousands) and President Bush finally authorizing sanctions against the Sudanese government, the release of this film couldn’t be more timely.
One aspect of the situation that I personally find most interesting is the “peripheral” involvement of China thanks to its control of the oil pipelines in the region, monies from which ultimately find their way to the Sudanese government as payment for leasing rights. This is just another not-so-shining example of just how small our world really is and why films such as THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK are so important today. In the grand scheme of life, the act of one eventually trickles down to affect the acts and lives of all.
During post-screening discussions on inquiry from attendees as to what we as individuals can do to drive the message home to the political and corporate movers & shakers that genocide cannot and shall not be tolerated and to further push for Sudanese sanctions and action in Darfur, Brian had several suggestions. One, write letters – in longhand – to your elected officials. Did you know that a handwritten letter from a constituent will actually make it to the official’s desk to be read? Another, check your stock portfolios for companies that have investments in Sudan and then sell your shares and invest elsewhere. Nothing makes a louder impact than hitting someone, even a corporation, where it hurts – their wallet. A third, become involved in or just read materials provided by some of the humanitarian and grass roots efforts currently in force, such as the Save Darfur Coalition – www.savedarfur.org, NOOW – www.notonourwatchproject.org, Divest for Darfur – www.DivestForDarfur.org, or Global Grassroots – www.globalgrassroots.org.
This week, THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK will play in limited release in the Los Angeles area and thereafter move around the country including the CineVegas Film Festival in Las Vegas, Seattle and the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. At every showing, Brian will be present taking Q&A from the audience after each screening. And as he said last week, “I’ll keep talking and answering your questions until there are no more.”
With Brian Steidle. Directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern. (88 min)
For more information on how your local theater, school or community can bring THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK to your town, contact the filmmakers at www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com.
