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Brian Steidle

Photographs (from top to bottom):
The village Um Zeifa after an attack by the Janjaweed militia, Darfur 2005
© Brian Steidle, 2005
Brian Steidle (left)
© Leo Buurman

Brian Steidle grew up living around the world as the son of a naval officer, now retired Admiral. He graduated with a B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1999 and received a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps as an infantry officer. He completed his service with the USMC at the end of 2003 with the rank of captain.

In January 2004, he accepted a contract position with the Joint Military Commission in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, working on the North-South ceasefire. Within seven months he worked his way up from a team leader to the senior operations officer. In September 2004, Steidle was invited to serve in Darfur as an unarmed military observer and one of only three U.S. representatives to the African Union monitoring the ceasefire.

After six months, Steidle's conscience would no longer allow him to stand by without taking further action. He became convinced that he could be more effective by bringing the photographs and story of what he witnessed to the world.

Steidle returned to the United States in early February 2005 and has since spoken at over 100 public awareness events across the country and has been interviewed by as many international and national media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, CBS Evening News, CNN, NPR, ABC Dateline, and many others. He has met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, and U.S. ambassadors to the UN. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and has spoken before the UN Human Rights Commission and the British House of Commons.

Steidle remains an advisor to numerous NGOs regarding Darfur and is currently co-writing his memoirs, to be published in the spring by PublicAffairs Books.

More of Brian Steidle's story and images can be found in his online photoessay, "In Darfur, My Camera Was Not Enough":
www.ushmm.org
See also:
www.globalgrassroots.org

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