“The atrocities in Darfur are terrible, pass the butter.”
Why is genocide called “ethnic cleansing”? It is not very clean. It’s a dirty business, often perpetrated by heartless ghouls (soldiers of fortune). The smells of rotten and burned meat are everywhere where the “cleaning” happens. After all, there is no disposal site that contains hundreds of thousands of corpses. These things should not happen on this planet. But we will be blindfolded against what we do not want to see.
The film that I want to designate as the “most important” has won accolades and awards. However, I have to think that not enough people have seen it. Is the human race really so indifferent as to allow the things seen in “The Devil Came on Horseback” (Break Through Films, 2008) to continue indefinitely? Don’t we know or don’t care? Is a retired Marine taking photographs and crying, racked with guilt that he was sent with a camera instead of a gun just compelling theater?
Some say that the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, did not happen, that Captain Brian Steidel’s photographs are inconclusive (meaning that he basically shows lies). Some say the Holocaust didn’t happen either. What selfish purpose could a man have to display such atrocities, have nightmares for the rest of his life, make people close to him have nightmares? Well, maybe he just enjoys making people feel bad. Anyone who can look at the photos Brian took and call them “unfinished” is blinded by the pampering that has been enjoyed in this country (USA).
Whenever a “made in China” product is purchased, a percentage of the purchase price goes towards weapons for the Janjaweed mercenaries of the Khartoum government. These units burn and murder innocent Darfur residents, even going to neighboring Chad to carry out executions in refugee camps. This is “conjecture”, says the Sudanese “government”.
Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see any victim of this horrible genocide carrying a weapon. The so-called government of Khartoum, Sudan, calls the victims “rebels.” With no way of responding, much less instigating violence, are these people rebels? Darfur’s atrocities are another cross that Africa must bear. As humans, our only job is the perpetuation of our species. We are failing at this job in some areas of the world.
The most difficult scene in the film for me to watch was the one where Brian and his sister were talking to a refugee from Darfur in a camp in Chad. The poor thing was sure to thank the American people for all that they had done. I felt the man walk away from the American couple thinking “Certainly now the world understands.” That is not the case with the Sudanese patriot. The world does not understand. The world has not suffered enough to understand what your life has become. Essentially, the influential countries have done nothing but stances. Reason: Sudan is an oil distributor, particularly for China.
Of all crimes against humanity, genocide is the least understandable. Why have crazy power mongers throughout history destroy your greatest resource?
Most of the scenes depicted in the film take place at the height of the murders (2003 mid-decade). Although the situation has changed, to this day the residents of Darfur remain pawns in a game that is deadly for them. Now there are not so many innocents left to kill, but the same lies and challenges continue from the military politicians in Khartoum. Lately, in retaliation for the court’s findings on genocide, the regime has begun to disperse humanitarian organizations. Cute!
WARNING: Do not allow children to view this until you have determined that they can withstand the trauma. Of course, you can tell them that it is just a fantasy.