Brian Steidle

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Brian Steidle

Brian Steidle is human rights activist, journalist, photographer, and author who had worked on publicizing the Darfur conflict in Sudan. Steidle wrote a book, The Devil Came on Horseback, about his experience, which was turned into a documentary film that premiered at Sundance in 2007.

Steidle has shared his experience in Darfur with heads of state in the United States and abroad, addressed the U.S. Congress and the United Nations, and serves both as lecturer and advisor to several non-government organizations regarding their humanitarian efforts in Darfur and other nations.

Prior to his work in Darfur, Steidle, the son of a high-ranking U.S. Navy officer, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1999 to 2003, completing his service with the rank of Captain.

1 Work in Darfur
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Work in Darfur

In September 2004, at the age of 27, Steidle accepted an assignment as one of three U.S. military observers for the African Union in the Darfur region of western Sudan.^[1] In Darfur, Steidle witnessed the murders of thousands of people, but was not permitted to intervene, though he photographed what he witnessed. After his 6-month contract was completed, Brian resigned the position and returned to the United States to speak out about what he saw.

Steidle returned to Darfur to further document and publicize the events taking place there, and visited the Congo as well, where people are now recovering from similar atrocities. Steidle wrote of his experiences in Darfur in his book, "The Devil Came on Horseback," a reference to the Janjaweed faction that has been responsible for much of the genocide in Darfur. The book has since been made into a film, funded by a grant from the Sundance Film Festival. Steidle appears throughout the film, narrating what he witnessed and interviewing survivors in Darfur.