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The Devil Came on Horseback:  Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle and co-written with his sister Gretchen Steidle Wallace was simply heartbreaking.

When Brian Steidle retired from the Marines, he started looking for a job in which he could utilize his military skills.  While browsing the classifieds, he came upon an ad from a civilian contracting company overseeing a cease fire in the south.  With naivety, he quickly accepted thinking that he had just landed his dream job.  It wasn’t long after his arrival in Sudan, that Brian transferred to Darfur, working as the American representative in the African Union.  A monitoring force of only 300, the African Union’s mandate prohibited them from taking any action to actually protect civilians or arrest perpetrators.  Their only job was to “observe, inquire, and write reports.”

Can you imagine?  You’re dropped into the middle of a genocide, where the the government of Sudan has killed hundreds of thousands of its own people through aerial attacks on the villages and  the Janjaweed (meaning devil on horseback) raiding them from the ground and the only thing you have is a pen/paper and a camera?

After a village attack, Brian met a small baby named Mihad who had been shot in the back, with gaping entry and exit wounds.  The baby’s aunt (her mother died) tried to have Brian treat her.  Brian couldn’t do anything, “I shook my head and swallowed with half-hearted acceptance that there was nothing I could say or do to change the situation.  I took photos and made notes for my report.  Silently fuming, I moved on, clutching my camera a little too fiercely.”  He did this time after time.

Brian writes about the frustration that comes while witnessing the atrocities of a genocide and not being able to do anything about it.  What’s worse, is that the world wasn’t doing anything about it either.  Darfur is the world’s most crucial humanitarian crisis in the world right now.  But do people even care?  While back home for a few weeks, Brian had this conversation with a bartender.

“Darfur is a region of Sudan.  There’s a genocide going on there – the government has already killed a few hundred thousand of its own citizens.”

“Whoa.  That’s intense.  So, like, isn’t everyone in Africa killing each other, if they’re not starving already?” he asked.

Annoyed, I tried to give him a quick summary of the conflict.

After a few minutes he broke in.  “So, why do we have Americans like you there?  What do we get out of it?”

“What?  Nothing,” I told him.  “You get nothing.”

“So, why should I care?”

I almost knocked my beer over.  “Shouldn’t we care about massive killing?”

“So what?  Africa is a mess.  I don’t really care if they keep killing each other,” he said.

What!?  Wouldn’t you care if people were being killed down your street?  Wouldn’t you care if people were being killed in your city?  Wouldn’t you care if people were being killed in your state?  In your country?  What’s the difference between a 100 miles, a thousand, or three thousand?

There’s a  lot of argument over the word genocide.  I totally agreed with this statement:

Every nation had an obligation to prevent such atrocities.  To me, whether or not to use the word genocide wasn’t what was important.  People were dying in large numbers and we had the means to stop the violence.  Unfortunately, we did not have the will.  They are ‘just Africans,’ someone said to me once.  It made me sick.

I highly recommend reading The Devil Came On Horseback, Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur for those wanting an insiders view.  It was well written and kept me engrossed the whole time.  Before reading this book, I watched The Devil Came on Horseback documentary based upon Brian’s time in Darfur.  If you don’t read this book (which I think you should) than I highly recommend that you watch this documentary!  It’s one of the best that I’ve seen but it’s also one of the most graphic.  It’s not for the faint of heart, but I think that’s the point.  It’s a call to action.  My husband and I cried through this film, especially when you see Brian break down on camera.  He’s very sincere.

The official trailer:

More about Brian:

Why am I doing this?  Surely, my efforts are hardly going to make a ripple in the big picture.  But when I read Brian’s following words, it was a confirmation to me, that I’m doing the right thing.

Sometimes when I am talking to people about Darfur, they ask me how they or the United States will benefit from getting involved in the issue.  I can feel my anger rising.  I tell them:  You get nothing!  You get nothing from helping these people – except to know you did something good, that you did the right thing.  You helped people who couldn’t help themselves.  Every human being should have a chance to grow up without violence, to make independent choices in life, to drink a glass of clean water, to be free of fear – the fear or rape or a bullet in the back during the simple task of collecting firewood for daily meals.

I then point to my photo of Mihad and say:  If these reasons aren’t enough for you, I give you her.  Shouldn’t she have the right to grow up surrounded by peace and love?  What child deserves to be shot at age one?

What nation can allow genocide to continue?

What person can turn their back on the victims of such hatred?

When the genocide in Darfur has ended, what will you say you did to stop it?

Don’t forget to get involved in the Reading & Blogging for Darfur campaign taking place all September.  Visit www.globalgrassroots.org an organization founded by Gretchen Steidle Wallace (Brian’s sister), and www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com for information about the film. 

When the genocide in Darfur has ended, what will you say you did to help stop it?

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