Genocide is rightfully seen as one of the most emotionally heavy words in the English language. When many people think of genocide, they might correlate the word to the attempted, and nearly successful, extermination of the Jewish people during World War II. To stand by and watch fellow human beings killing each other because of their race, religion, sexuality, etc., leads many to conclude those who stand by are just as guilty as those who commit the act. Unfortunately, horrendous acts are kept silent from the global eye, as the film The Devil Came on Horseback intends to show us. Anne Sundeburg’s 2007 documentary, The Devil Came on Horseback, creatively uses persuasion techniques, which include: the credibility of Marine Brian Steidle, his …show more content…
Brian’s original mission was to document the situation, leading to thousands of heart-breaking photos being captured. Through the vast amount of images Brian took, the filmmakers chose to use only a small amount to portray the horrendous acts. Images of innocent school children being massacred would invoke rage in any person with a child or a young family member. The photographs that show those who had no way to fight back, such as the elderly and infants, quite plainly portrays the Darfur people as those who cannot help themselves from the Janjaweed or the Sudanese government. We see images of a father who was murdered in his attempt to save his daughter from being burned alive. Truly, seeing the barbarity that the Janjaweed have, we mentally give them the image of monsters without a soul. To further the Janjaweed and Sudanese militia’s devilish actions, we are shown more damage the Janjaweed has placed on the peoples of Darfur, specifically the women. Rape, used as a weapon of social destruction within communities, is used against the women and affect many more people. Brian explains that the women often do not say they have been sexually assaulted due to the fear their husbands will leave them and being forced to live in shame. We are shown women who …show more content…
It is possible that one of the reasons for the momentum for the cause slowed down is due to the Great Recession between 2007-2008, around a year after The Devil Came on Horseback was released. Americans became more focused on their own needs than those of other countries or even the less fortunate in the United States. The compelling techniques utilized by the filmmaker could not overcome the changing environment or mindsets in America. Being an activist or seeking to aid other countries is highly disliked in today’s America, as there has been an increase in nationalism from its citizens. Although it might seem harsh, it does seem logical for some to worry about getting their own lives into an orderly state before interfering in those of others. There are even groups who believe that the people of Darfur brought this crisis upon themselves. Ultimately, the work of Anne Sundeburg and Brian Steidle failed to bring Darfur liberation from their hardships and suffering; however, it did successfully inform the public for a fleeting
Furthermore, the region of Darfur is about the size of Texas. Its enormity is one of the sources of the current conflict because most of Darfur is not easily accessible. Traveling in and out of the secluded areas is very tough. There are an unfortunately small amount of all-weather roads. The attackers can travel the terrain much more easily, making it even more difficult for the villagers. The isolated areas make it hard for journalists and humanitarian workers to learn about the activity in the region. This makes it also not easy to gauge the actual number of people affected by the desolation of famine and warfare.
The citizens of Darfur were doing nothing wrong, they were minding their own business. The government begs to differ. The government wanted to use the land for oil exploration. They didn’t ask the Darfuri people to use their land, they just took over. Men, women and children were slaughtered and raped because they didn’t give up the land. The government “undertake to prevent and punish” (Raphael Lemkin pg1) which is the people of Darfur was a where of what was going on. They didn’t move their stuff they just stayed and fought in what they believed in. I believe many people would have just grabbed their valuables and taken their family and went somewhere else, but they didn’t want to do that because their neighbors were not leaving.
In recent times, the media has highlighted the genocide that has been occurring in Darfur, Sudan. Darfur, Sudan is a country roughly the size of the state of Texas (Darfur Scores, n.d.). Genocide is the systematic killing of an entire ethnic group of people from a national, ethnic, or religious group, or an attempt to do away with them all (Darfur Scores, n.d.). Beginning around 2003, according to Darfur Scores (n.d.), “the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the government-sponsored Janjaweed militia have used rape, displacement, organized starvation, threats against aid workers and mass murder. Violence, disease, and displacement continue to kill thousands of innocent Darfurians every month.”
The Darfur crisis was a horrific event because of the savage treatment of civilians that led to an immense number of civilian casualties. As of today, over four hundred and eighty thousand people have been killed, and over two point eight million people are displaced. (World Without Genocide, Worldwithoutgenocide.org). Women and children were forced to endure a systematic program of sexual assault, torture, and murder. The central government of Sudan, working largely through nomadic Arab militias, humiliates women, and tears apart families and shreds the social fabric of communities through rape. (Smart Library on Globalization, clg.portalxm.com). It is clear from these sources that the innocent civilian deaths tore apart families. After villages are attacked parents and children have had to run away from the
Genocide, a dire event, has been recurring time and time again throughout history. In the past, there was the Holocaust, where Hitler exterminated over six million Jews based on his anti-semitic views. Elie Wiesel, a Jewish author, has become a very influential man in educating the world of the true events of the Holocaust due to his involvement in the disaster. Presently, a genocide is occurring in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, in which according to Cheryl Goldmark, “a systematic slaughter of non-Arab residents at the the hands of Arab militiamen called Janjaweed” has been taking place since 2003. (1) Not only is genocide a tragic historical event, it also continuously occurs today.
The Darfur Genocide is the current mass slaughter and rape of civilians from South Sudan killing women and children in Sudan. The Genocide began in 2003 but the outbreak around the world in early 2004 and still continues today which is known as the first genocide in the 21 Century. There have been many responses toward the genocide such as United Nations and China but the conflict continues to be unresolved. This had caught attention from many countries around the world, including our country, the united Nation and China had different perspectives referring to Sudan conflict, however their initiatives had worsen the situation.
The government of Sudan, a country in Northeast Africa, is committing a horrendous crime against humanity. Genocide is raging on in Western Sudan against poor, helpless, innocent people. It is actually the ten year “anniversary” since the beginning of the Darfur conflict and the genocide still continues on. There are over 1.4 million people who still do not have homes to come back to, and the numbers stack higher every day. Bombings have not stopped, as there was one as recent as February 2013. The Darfur conflict in the beginning was just a brewing disaster and it eventually led to the horrendous genocides in the early 2000s due to early settlement disputes, climate change, and radical Islamic
Genocide is rightfully seen as one of the most emotionally heavy words in the English language. When many people think of genocide, they might correlate the word to the attempted, and nearly successful, extermination of the Jewish people during World War II. To stand by and watch fellow human beings killing each other because of their race, religion, sexuality, etc., leads many to conclude those who stand by are just as guilty as those who commit the act. Unfortunately, countless horrendous acts are kept silent from the global eye, as the film The Devil Came on Horseback intends to show us. Anne Sundeburg’s 2007 documentary, The Devil Came on Horseback, creatively uses persuasion techniques, which include: the credibility of Marine Brian
According to Amnesty International (2012), “throughout Sudan, the government routinely represses human rights defenders, political opponents, and ordinary civilians subjecting many to torture and other forms of ill-treatment.” Since the Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003, systematic human rights abuses have occurred. These abuses include killing, torture, rape, looting and destroying property. All parties have been involved, but these abuses have mostly been committed by the Sudanese government and government-backed Janjawid militia. These attacks have led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur, with an estimated two million internally displaced people and another 250,000 refugees