Survivors of Genocide

Darfur: the first genocide of the 21st century. 

In 2007, our first feature documentary, The Devil Came on Horseback, was released. Told through the eyes of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, it bore witness to the genocide in Darfur. His photographs and testimony revealed what the world had chosen not to see: villages burned, families annihilated, more than 400,000 lives lost, and millions forced from their homes. That film became the foundation of 3 Generations and the beginning of our founder and creative director, Jane Wells’ journey. As she later explained, “I knew I couldn’t sit back and not do something about the genocide in Darfur. Once I got myself into that war zone and bore witness to the first genocide of the 21st century, there was no going back.” Bearing witness is an obligation that has guided our work ever since.

Nearly twenty years later, the people of Darfur and Sudan are once again enduring the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The United Nations reports that 25 million people, half of Sudan’s population, are facing acute hunger, and 12 million have been driven from their homes. The killing has not stopped, only changed form. “The darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold,” warned the UN Fact-Finding Mission. The world once cried, “Save Darfur.” That movement brought millions to their feet, insisting that genocide not pass unnoticed. Today, as massacres unfold in camps like Zamzam and Abu Shouk, as children die of hunger and humanitarian workers are murdered, international reaction has been muted. Sudanese development expert Hamid El-Bashir put it bluntly: “When you look at the international response to the crisis in Sudan, there is no response.”

3 Generations began by amplifying the voices of Darfur, and we remain committed to telling the stories of those who suffer when the world looks away. Each of us has a role: to remember, to speak, to demand that leaders act, to support the organizations on the ground risking everything to save lives. Bearing witness is the first step toward justice. For information about the issues we support and to watch our films, please visit 3generations.org, follow us on social media, and connect with us via email by subscribing to our mailing list. We thank you for your support; we could not continue hearing their stories and demanding change without YOU.