Darfur Genocide Rescue Committee Attends Fundraiser

On Wednesday, July 25, area residents and members of Summit’s Darfur Genocide Rescue Committee attended a fundraiser and screening of “The Devil Came on Horseback,” a compelling new documentary film about the genocide currently taking place in Darfur, Sudan. In attendance were Emilie Boggis (Assistant Minister of Summit’s Unitarian Church), Mark and Lori Densen of Summit, and Michael Mooney and Rebecca Spence of New Providence. This sold-out event, which took place at the Independent Film Center (IFC) in New York, marked the commercial debut and nationwide launch of this important new film.

“The Devil Came on Horseback” documents the personal journey and experience of former Marine Captain Brian Steidle, who bore witness to the atrocities taking place in Darfur during a 6-month period in 2004. Captain Steidle was part of an multinational team charged with investigating ceasefire violations, first with respect to the north-south civil war and later, in the Darfur region. He functioned as the team photographer, taking thousands of photographs documenting the stark, often unbearable realities of what was happening on the ground in Darfur. Brian’s library of photographs taken during his time in Darfur, along with his personal diary entries and reflections form the backbone of the film, and provide an informative and compelling portrayal of the crisis in Darfur. The film depicts how this experience affected Brian’s own humanity, as he went from being an eager ex-marine on an “adventure” in Sudan, to bearing witness to a genocide for which he was wholly unprepared. It shows how he was drawn down a path that took him from a place of relative naiveté, to disillusionment with the world’s failure to act, to his current role as a passionate and fully committed advocate for the people of Darfur.

“The Devil Came on Horseback” is produced by independent filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern (also present at the NYC screening event) and presented by Break Thru Films, in association with Global Grassroots. Learn more about the film by visiting www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com. The film was timed to release simultaneously with a book by the same name, by Brian Steidle and his sister Gretchen Steidle Wallace, and published by PublicAffairs.

About the Darfur Genocide Rescue Committee

The Darfur Genocide Rescue Committee is a nonpartisan, interfaith coalition based in Summit, established to educate and inspire people to act in peaceful ways to facilitate an end to the conflict in Darfur and convey a compassionate presence and hope to the people of Darfur.

About the Conflict in Darfur

The current conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when chronically marginalized African Muslim tribes launched an attack on an airport as part of an effort to gain more fair and just access to the country’s wealth and resources. The Arab-led, Islamist government responded with an iron fist, launching a campaign of killing that quickly evolved into what the United States and others now recognize as genocide. Today experts estimate that between 400,000 and 500,000 people have been killed, and at least 2.5 million displaced. It has been described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Despite countless UN resolutions and passage of legislation here in the United States, to date the world community has failed to take action to end the genocide. To learn more about what you can do to help bring an end to the genocide in Darfur, visit www.savedarfur.org or www.genocideintervention.net. .