Assignment 2

Katie Hogue
3/13/12
Eng 255 

                                                    Bringing Justice to the Least of These 

      “Where you live should not determine whether you live.” This very thought is the basis for the latest viral YouTube video. Called simply “Kony 2012,” the 30-minute video put out by the organization Invisible Children aims to educate the world on who Joseph Kony is, and to inspire them to take action to stop the atrocities he is committing in central Africa.  Released for free online streaming via YouTube on March 6th 2012, the video had over 32 million hits by March 8th, and at last count on March 13th had 76,774,007 views. Invisible Children was started in 2005, but with the release of “Kony 2012” the movement has recently exploded, making itself and Joseph Kony a household name. Of course, with such fame, there are sure to be critics. Within a few days of the most recent video posting, everything Invisible Children has ever done or posted has been questioned. Many of these criticisms are coming from individuals who do not even really understand Invisible Children Inc., Joseph Kony, or the complex situation facing those affected by his army. To be fair, many of those who quickly re-posted the video on facebook, tweeted #makekonyfamous on twitter, and pinned graphics of Kony 2012 on pinterest were also not fully educated about the cause.     
     The history of the Invisible Children is, admittedly, extremely complex and
confusing. Everyone should take the time to at least watch the first video put out by the organization, known as “Invisible Children: Rough Cut”. To summarize as simply as possible, the Invisible Children website explains that a war began in 1936 when a woman, Alice Lakwena, formed a group known as the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) to protest the new president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni. Lakwena was captured and exiled by the Ugandan government, and Joseph Kony, a distant cousin of Lakwena stepped in to take her place. He quickly changed everything about the group. Now known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the organization created to end oppression of Northern Uganda turned into an even greater oppression than the Ugandan government itself. Kony could not find enough supporters for his cause, so he resorted to kidnapping children, brainwashing them, and forcing them to fight for him. Boys were handed guns and forced to kill others, even their own families. Girls functioned as sex-slaves. Out of desperation, children in Uganda would commute to cities every night, sleeping in huge make-shift camps to protect themselves from abduction. The whole situation was largely unknown to most of the world until three young boys from California stumbled across one of these camps during their quest to find a story. 
            Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole were three newly graduated college students with a passion for film eager to use their newly acquired abilities. In 2003, on the day the war began in Iraq, they set off to Africa to find their story. The boys were fully aware of the danger they were placing themselves in, but were hungry for adventure and felt called to Africa. Through a series of chance events, they found themselves tossed into the middle of a sea of children whose lives were controlled by the fear of abduction. They immediately began documenting the subject; talking to anyone they could, trying to gather information about situation at hand. When they returned to the U.S., they showed their video to all their friends and family, but knew they wanted to do more. Out of this, Invisible Children Inc. was born in 2006.
     Despite efforts, and many instances of false hope, the war in Africa continues. Kony has moved out of Uganda and the LRA into primarily the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Central African Republic. Joseph Kony is listed as the number 1 most wanted by the International Criminal Court, and currently, about 100 U.S. soldiers have been deployed to Uganda to assist the Ugandans in capturing Joseph Kony. Invisible Children’s latest campaign is to make sure people know who he is, creating support for those trying to bring Kony to justice. 
            As mentioned previously, the latest video, “Kony 2012” has sparked debate about the legitimacy of Invisible Children. One of the biggest issues is that of finances. Invisible Children is primarily marketed to young adults, with the videos being shown in high schools and on college campuses. Events are targeted towards the younger generation. As such, it is understandable to question where the resources collected from the youth are being used. Invisible Children is very transparent about their finances and the people who question it are simply not doing their research. By visiting www.invisiblechildren.com, and clicking on the “financials” link, yearly financial reports are available since the organization’s creation. The largest portion of the budget goes towards programs in central Africa, and only 16.24% of the budget goes towards “management and general,” Even of this relatively small portion, it is important to recognize that 95% of Invisible Children’s leadership and staff are native Ugandans. Invisible Children truly seeks to create a thriving, successful, self-sufficient Central Africa. They know that extensive American intervention a crippling hindrance rather than a solution.
            Another critique of the Invisible Children movement is that sending millions of dollars to the Ugandan government is a waste. What these individuals appear to misunderstand is that this is simply not the case. Invisible Children is not mindlessly funneling money into a failing government. They are founding schools to educate the Ugandan children, help locals to learn trades to support themselves, and have rehabilitation facilities equipped to help child soldier refugees work through their troubles and re-enter the world, living lives as normal as possible. The leaders of Invisible Children have done extensive research into the social situation in Uganda and the surrounding areas. They have more experience and knowledge of the situation than the vast majority of naysayers.  
             One of the biggest issues facing Invisible Children since its founding has been U.S. involvement. The war in Central Africa has no effect on U.S. economy or national security. With so much controversy over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, why get involved somewhere new? At the same time, Joseph Kony is an evil man on the level of criminals like Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. He is the most wanted person on the International Criminal Court’s list. Joseph Kony most directly affects society’s most vulnerable members, and he must be stopped. Justice must be served. 
             Shortly after the release of “Kony 2012”, came perhaps the most shocking announcement. Per a website called Trust Law, the film was shown to an audience of native Ugandans in Lira, Uganda. Their reaction was far from positive, and they reportedly grew so angry that they threw stones at the screen. These were the very people this movie was supposed to be saving! If they felt this negatively about it, it must be a horrible organization. Upon closer examination, however, it is clear that this is not the case. Since Invisible Children Inc.’s foundation in 2003, Uganda has made vast improvements. Kony is now primarily a threat to the DRC, CAR, and South Sudan. They felt that the film did not accurately represent present day northern Uganda. (On a side note, it would be interesting to see a video on how Uganda has improved since the creation of Invisible Children Inc.) Also, we must realize that what these people and their ancestors endured was a hellish nightmare that they do not wish to re-live. They want to move on with their lives, not to dwell on the atrocities committed against them. Showing them the film was sure to invoke feelings such as they expressed, but does not mean that they hate Invisible Children as an organization. It means that they hate what they have been through and want to be recognized for how far they have come, and rightfully so. 
             Another issue raised by the “Kony 2012” video is the use of founder Jason Russell’s son, Gavin. Towards the beginning of the film, Gavin’s birth is shown. Throughout the movie, clips of Gavin are included and Jason even films himself trying to explain to the child who Joseph Kony is and what Jason does for a living. Some individuals feel this is an exploitation of Jason’s son. However, the point of Gavin’s inclusion is not to add “cuteness points” but to make an important line of reasoning. Had Gavin been born halfway around the world, he just as easily might be a child soldier. Gavin did not choose to be born or where he was born. Humans are innately entitled to live without fear of abduction, without fear of slavery, without fear of the violence that so many children in Central Africa face.
       Evil will exist as long as the earth does, but this is no reason to sit back and do nothing. If Joseph Kony is stopped, others will rise to the top of the criminal list. However, does this make the injustices in Central Africa any less cruel? I learned about Invisible Children as a junior in high school. I was immediately drawn in; horrified that such a crime could be taking place today. At 16, with no car, no job, and hardly allowed to move without consulting my parents, I felt powerless. This is exactly the attitude that Invisible Children seeks to squash. They are very direct in explaining how we can help the movement through their use of social media and films targeted towards youth. They explain that every penny helps, sell products made in Africa, encourage youth to contact government officials about the situation, and sponsor events aimed at raising awareness and creating change in Central Africa. Invisible Children is translucent about what they do, and for anyone with lingering uncertainties about what they do, I would encourage you to visit their website and especially to check out their “critiques” tab.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but remember that human lives are at stake.  According to World Vision, as of 2007, more than 30,000 children had been abducted in Uganda alone by the LRA.  We can only guess at how many more have been affected since Kony moved into other areas of Central Africa.  The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated in 2010 that 2.1 million Ugandans had been displaced by 2010, and in 2011 they reported that 440,000 people in the DRC, CAR, and South Sudan had been displaced by 2011.  Additionally, do not ignore the U.S. lives who are choosing to be involved.  People worry about leaving the world in the hands of “this generation”, but these young adults are standing up for what they believe in and fighting for it.  The youth of America are convicted that this tragedy in Central Africa is unfair, and that something must be done to stop the injustices.  As the Bible says in Matthew 25:40, “The king will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”  They know that they must help the ‘least of these’ who cannot defend themselves.  They realize that WHERE you live, should never determine WHETHER you live.

Photo credit: http://mtakavitu.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/joseph-kony-the-father-of-ugandas-invisible-children/

Works Cited

Anzia, Lys. "Criticism over KONY 2012 Video Continues as Ugandan Women Wish to Forget

the past." TrustLaw. Trust Law, 22 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/criticism-over-kony-2012-video-continues-as-ugandan-women-wish-to-forget-the-past/>.

 “Invisible Children.” Invisible Children Inc. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.

            <http://www.invisiblechildren.com/history.html>.

Invisible Children: Rough Cut.  Perf. Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole, and Jason Russell. 2006. DVD.

“Kony 2012.” Invisible Children. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. http://www.kony2012.com/>.

“KONY 2012.”  YouTube. YouTube, 05 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.

            <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc>.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. LRA Regional Update: DRC, CAR, and

South Sudan. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  Aug. 2011. Web. Mar 2012. <http://www.worldvision.com.au/Libraries/3_1_1_-_Issues_-_Children/Child_soldiers_Uganda.pdf>.

World Vision. “Child Soldiers: Uganda.” World Vision, 2007. Web. Mar 2012.

<http://www.worldvision.com.au/Libraries/3_1_1_-_Issues_-_Children/Child_soldiers_Uganda.pdf>.