International

A Marine's View of the Sudan Crisis

By Terry Gross

Published March 16, 2005 at 9:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 19 years ago.

Former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle has been in the Dafur region of Western Sudan monitoring the humanitarian crisis there for the African Union. In the past 18 months, 180,000 people have died from hunger and disease.

An unknown number of Sudanese have died as a result of the violence, and at the hands of the militia group the Janjaweed, which has carried out a scorched-earth campaign of killing, raping and driving people from their homes. The Janjaweed targets non-Arab villages. There are at least 2 million refugees as a result. Steidle says he has no doubt that what is going on there is genocide.

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International

Terry Gross

Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune, would be prized by any talk-show host, and you're bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by the unique approach of host and executive producer Terry Gross. "A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence," says the San Francisco Chronicle.

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