THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK

THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
Directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundeberg

I remember September 11th very clearly. The mass transit system in Chicago was shut down and we all had to systematically evacuate the downtown area, for fear of the Sears Tower or John Hancock Building being struck. I remember walking home and trying desperately to call my friends in New York to see if they were alright. I came home and cried as I watched the terrible footage, and I had an itch that I needed to go to New York and help out. I was trained in Colorado as a volunteer for Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue, and I had skills to search for people lost in avalanches and rock slides. But I had no way to get to New York. And had I found a way to get to New York, people and volunteers alike were wisely being refused entry to Ground Zero. So I had to sit at home, helpless, powerless, saddened.

It's been six years since that day, and those feelings of helplessness reared its ugly head again when I saw the film THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK. This is a documentary of another horrific event, but unlike September 11th the terror still persists, and the body count rises daily. This is the story of Darfur, of the genocide of black Sudanese citizens carried out by the fanatic Arab population of Sudan.

The story begins with Brian Steidle, a third generation Marine Captain who had just finished his tour of Iraq and was looking forward to an early retirement. Still seeking one last call to duty, Stiedle volunteers to embark as a military reservist with the African Union for a peace keeping mission in Sudan, to act as an observatory member to ensure that the recently signed ceasefire resolution was being maintained. Stiedle packed his belongings and headed to Darfur, the Western-most region of Sudan that borders neighboring Chad.

Stiedle arrived in Darfur to not only witness that the accord was not being followed, but that crimes of humanity were being committed even worse than before. Sudanese villages that were populated with non-Arab farmers and peasants were being raped, pillaged, and massacred by the Janjaweed- the private Arab militia hired by the Sudanese government in Khartoum.

Stiedle, who was not on a military mission and therefore was not given a weapon, was helpless to defend the citizens from the Janjaweed. His calls and emails to officials in the US and in Europe were met with either dissent or rhetoric- nobody had proof that these atrocities were happening because the Sudanese government had denied access of foreign governments and the UN to the Darfur region. Khartoum continued to deny such accusations, and placed a hush on all activities coming out of the region. Corporations colluded with the Sudanese government in shutting down mobile communications in the region.

Stiedle was powerless. The only weapon he had was his camera, and Stiedle proceeded to create the largest known first-hand photo journalistic account of the genocide in Darfur. His images captured the Janjaweed in the process of burning villages, torturing and murdering men and children, and systematically raping every woman. Armed with over 1,000 incriminating photographs, Stiedle took his findings to the international community, hoping his work would finally convince the world that a crime of massive proportions is going on underneath our noses.

The response Stiedle received was shocking and incomprehensible. His accounts were lost in political semantics and rhetoric, with Sudanese officials and ex-pats calling Stiedle's photographs a fallacy and manufactured. The proceedings hauntingly rang of the debates of those who deny the Holocaust ever existed, those who create elaborate conspiracy theories to explain the murdering of hundreds of thousands.

It was heartbreaking to watch this powerful film. One one side we have the helplessness of Stiedle, a good man and good soldier who cannot do anything to physically help those being slaughtered, and whose words are falling on deaf or politically bound ears. On the other side we have the plight of the people of Darfur, who are equally helpless to defend themselves from the attacks of the Janjaweed and their government. It has become clear that the Arab dominated government in Khartoum wants all non-Arabs dead, wiped off the face of the Earth. The Janjaweed has now moved into Chad, killing and raping even more people. The African Union is helpless because they cannot mount a full military response unless they have a majority vote- the Arab nations in the Union have voted against any intrusion into Sudan. The Union is also outgunned and undermanned to take on such a task.

it must be further noted that this is not an issue of religion, as Sudan is primarily Muslim. The Janjaweed, who are Muslim, are backed by a Muslim government who has ordered the killing of their fellow Muslims. This is an issue of Arab versus non-Arab, a pure genocide based on race. If you are a black African in Darfur, your days are numbered. The Janjaweed have now been almost fully absorbed into the Sudanese military, who provide the Janjaweed with armaments to fight against non-Arab resistance forces (the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement). These rebel groups themselves have fallen into corruption, and they are neither friend or foe, as Sudan is also in a war of definitions.

In 2004, the United States, under a committee chaired by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, officially determined that the Darfur Conflict had escalated into genocide, and urged the UN to pass a resolution to have the Janjaweed disarmed. The UN Security Council passed the order, but has yet been able to enforce the resolution because the Sudanese government had not allowed UN access into Darfur. The United States has not considered military action in Darfur, as it is currently preoccupied with its current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Stiedle has correctly pointed out that the solution in Darfur must not come from America's military alone. If the US were to lead a singular invasion, it would further polarize the Arab world against the United States. The military force to save the people of Darfur must be one of the United Nations, of a collective of nations to which no political vendetta can be attached. While crime must be stopped, it should not be at the expense of future atrocities and terrorism. This may be political logic, but we must always keep the benefit of future generations in mind of our actions.

THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK is one of the most immediate and important films to see this year. It is the struggle of one man to inform the world to act on a genocide that is happening now, happening today. As I write this blog I know in my mind that right now, somewhere in Darfur a village is being set aflame, a child is being murdered, a woman is being raped repeatedly. How we continue to let this happen is beyond me, and we're all guilty of turning a blind eye.

What can we do? We can let our government and other governments know that the United States public will not tolerate inaction. We can demand change. We can put our money where our mouth is. We can boycott the corporations that work with African companies that partner with the Sudanese government. We can write and call the White House and our congressmen every day. We can support people like Brian Stiedle, who tirelessly campaign for the lives of others. This man has seen a terror that we will never truly comprehend, and in his words, one that we should never have to comprehend.

You can find out more about Brian Stiedle and the film at

www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com

You can support the efforts to save the people of Darfur at

savedarfur.org



The Devil Came on Horseback - trailer



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