Photographer and former U.S. Marines Captain Brian Steidle informed an audience of around 150-200 people about genocide in Darfur last Tuesday night at the Church of the Ascension in Saratoga.

According to Steidle, he has tried to use his photographs to inform the American public about genocide in Darfur, but was ordered by the State Department to cease publishing his photos because the government believes that the photos could complicate its relationship with Sudan.

"Tonight is about information and action," Rabbi Daniel Pressman of Congregation Beth David said. "Fifteen Thousand [people] die each month… [and] 400,000 have died [in total]. There are ways to raise our voices."

Congregation Beth David, as well as other organizations such as Save Darfur Silicon Valley and STAND [Students Taking Action Now: Darfur] sponsored the event.

The evening started out with Steidle showing a video about the situation in Darfur, and continued with a slide show of pictures Steidle had taken as well as commentary on his personal experience.

"[This is] the longest lasting civil war in the world," Steidle said. "Think about dropping a nuclear bomb on Sacramento… that’s how it [genocide in Darfur] is."

He then went on to inform the audience that genocide in Darfur has been going on for longer than people think.

"In 1998, 250,000 [people] starved to death in Sudan," Steidle said.

He then asked the audience, "Where were you in 1998? I know where I was, and I didn’t know this was happening… People say it [genocide] started in 2003… it started at least in 1998."

Steidle became involved in Darfur when he was offered a position there by the U.S. Marines.

"It was a monitoring mission, not a peace-keeping mission," Steidle said. "We would take reports."

According to Steidle what he saw while he was in Darfur was horrific and disturbing, enough to make him want to take action rather than just make reports.

"We saw people who had their eyes picked out," Steidle said. "[And] talked to women who were gang raped… I decided the world needed to see."

Steidle had the privilege of taking pictures in Darfur; others would usually not be allowed to take photographs of the situation there.

"I was allowed to take pictures because I was a part of the diplomatic committee," Steidle said.

With this privilege, Steidle decided to take action and inform the public with his photos.

"I was told not to let these pictures out to the world, which is exactly what I did," Steidle said.

His remark was answered by much applause in the audience.

But Steidle did not only take pictures of the people in Darfur; he met and spoke to people who have suffered through the genocide.

"Some tribes don’t exist [in the Nuba Mountains] anymore. A whole village, people, [and] language [are] gone."

Genocide and the war have hit the Nuba Mountains, an area of Darfur, especially hard.

According to Steidle he has experienced first-hand attacks and has been in danger himself.

"I was shot at every week [and] I was held hostage. I would say Darfur is not safe," Steidle said.

He also mentioned how he and others working with the Marines could tell when the Janjaweed, a group of attackers, were going to attack a village.

"The government cuts off the cell [telephone lines]… then the satellite lines… this means an attack is going to happen, [and] the people don’t know this," Steidle said.

According to Steidle, the attacks are brutal. They are well executed and planned by the Janjaweed who have been trained by the government of Sudan.

"After the initial attack, it’s still not over," Steidle said. "They [the Janjaweed] come and take everything of value… they take their guns and shoot the locks off buildings… Then they go back and get everything that they can’t take and burn it… they burn it so if they [the people of the attacked village] return, they cannot use it.”

Explaining how fast the Janjaweed attack, Steidle said that at one village, "we [Marines] came back three hours later and the village was gone… it was a dark spot on the map."

According to Steidle, the refugee camps where survivors of attacks can go are in bad shape as well.

Referring to a picture of a truck bringing in water to a restless crowd Steidle said, "These people haven’t had water in three days."

There is also a firewood shortage, but to obtain more firewood, refugees have to travel outside the camps.

"It’s not safe outside the camps," Steidle said. "If the men leave the camp, then they are castrated and killed [by the Janjaweed]. Women are raped."

Rape is a huge problem for women in Darfur. According to Steidle, when he would talk to the women of Darfur about being raped, they would not actually use the word "rape" itself when they spoke.

"There’s no word in Arabic for ‘rape’ because it’s not supposed to happen,” he said.

Steidle ended his presentation by urging the audience to take action and write letters to the president and their congressional representatives and senators.

According to Steidle, many Congress members say, "All these people send us e-mails and we stack them up; if someone sends us a letter, it goes straight to our desks."

He concluded by answering a question that he is commonly asked.

"People ask me, ‘What do I get out of it [taking action to stop genocide in Darfur]?’" Steidle said. "What do you get out of it? Nothing. Oil prices are still high, sitcoms are still dumb. You get nothing, except that you did something good that day."

Commenting on the U.S. government, Steidle said, "We should take the lead role [to stop genocide]… we are the world super power."

Many people at the event agreed that the United States should take action now to stop the genocide in Darfur. But others also agreed that America needs to stay true to their words and follow through.

Dorothy Dorsay from the Save Darfur Silicon Valley organization said, "We want to make those words, ‘Never Again’ a reality."