The Matthew Online

For 85 minutes, the horrors of Darfur come to Rome

By Kriste Marciulionis

ROME, Feb. 19 - Former U.S. Marine captain Brian Steidle shot away with his 35mm camera as he watched Janjaweed militias burn the village of Labado to the ground.

Steidle, 27, began his assignment in September, 2004, where he spent six months as a U.S. military observer monitoring the ceasefire on behalf of the African Union in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Day to day, he helplessly recorded hell on earth. The Janjaweed Arab militia, backed by the Sudanese government, unleashed a mass scale genocide of African tribes, and all Steidle could do was watch.

“What does monitoring ceasefire really even mean?” Steidle’s narration echoed throughout the documentary. Steidle sent over 80 reports depicting the horrors he witnessed to the African Union; only four reports reached government officials in the United States.

The U.S Citizens for Peace and Justice in Italy screened the haunting documentary "The Devil Came on Horseback" on Sunday to usher in part seven of their Eyes Wide Open documentary series. The organization was created three years ago, on the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Canadian docu-filmmaker, historian rewinds to the 1970s Middle East

By A. May

ROME, 6 Oct  - Canadian poet, author and journalist Barry Callaghan gave a moving history lesson at John Cabot University last week, describing what it's like to be caught up in a war zone.

Callaghan, the recipient of numerous writing awards, including a dozen National Magazine Awards, was at JCU to present two of his short films about a particularly turbulent period in the Middle East in the 1970s.

How I spent my summer vacation

On July 12, on an otherwise normal summer day, life changed suddenly. Bombs fell from the sky onto downtown Beirut.

JCU student Fatin Sonbol explains what happened next: We had little choice but to flee home. And flee fast. (Explosions like this could be seen from Sobol's kitchen window. This photo courtesy of Associated Press).