ALRIGHTYYY,
So. This whole Kony 2012 stuff that everyone and their grandma has been posting all over Facebook and everyyythinng....
{quick fill in if you somehow have no idea what I'm talking about.
Basically, Joseph Kony is the leader of a violent rebel group called the LRA, who abducts children and forces them to fight, even kill their own families, and uses girls as sex slaves, all to "advance and keep power." They plague central Africa and were at some point, primarily in Uganda....
Horrid of horrors right? There is a video for a campaign to "Stop Kony" in the year 2012... }
Well, I didn't really understand all the hype at first. The first time I saw the link to the video, (or should I say about 10 links,) I also saw links to articles against the campaign, and the organization, Invisible Children, ~here out known as "IC"~ And to be perfectly honest, that is probably the only reason I was originally wary of the whole idea.
The video itself, Kony 2012, is in all reality pretty good. It's well made, with a good blend of the scary-stuff to make your heart ache, and the rally stuff to inspire you. It gives the vibe of an everyday-kinda-guy who has a perfectly adorable, very innocent, son who has the simplest of all answers to solve the horrors of Kony's reign, "Stop him." Oh yeah and the dude also has a big vision to make a difference.
As I was watching it, I kept thinking of the Vietnam war and all the hippie-protests for that and how awesome it would be for this generation to rise up against such a horrible injustice.
Then there's the articles against IC, and because I believe in knowing the whole story, especially when there's so many sides to it as with this story, I read quite a few. And believe me, these, weren't (at least not all,) hate blogs. They were very logical explanations and view points on why Invisible Children & Kony 2012 was a cause they were just not willing to support.
They consisted of many things,
-Improper use of funds by the IC,
-IC not getting their facts completely laid out when talking about the LRA's current location, and being "too late," that Kony wasn't such a threat anymore because he's hiding out possibly starving somewhere in the jungle, (to which I say, where does it matter where he is? I'm sure he's not oblivious to the raising awareness about his deeds and who's to say he won't suddenly come out of hiding and rise up again?
Well, you all can make your own decision about whether or not Invisible Children is a reputable organization and all that jazz,
But what really makes an imprint on me is Ugandan people themselves, a lot of them are not very fond of this campaign, they feel it makes Africa out to be the typical "in need" place,
"OH the great western hero is swooping in to save the poor Africans who can't save themselves,"
When in fact, there is apparently quite a bit of current stability. Take a look at this which has a video of a very well spoken young woman from Uganda who really seems quite offended by this whole deal.
I was ALMOST AGAINST INVISIBLE CHILDREN until I saw this video:
That's when I realized that it's not about the organizations, the blogs, the facebook groups. It's about bringing a horrible man to justice and letting so many people who've been horribly affected by him and the LRA, rest easy. Be at peace with the fact that they can't get them anymore... I realized that's the real goal.
People say, "There's so many other more prominent problems going on in Uganda other than the LRA... what about Nodding Disease?" WELL, when you start up an organization to combat Nodding Disease, (which is no doubt a serious issue,) let me know, and I will research it as much as I did this and probably support it. But until then, why not focus our attention on this issue? I would much rather see REAL things like this all over the media, as opposed to normally trendy things, like Kim Kardashian's wedding...
As for Invisible Children themselves as an organization, they seem ok to me, but I don't want to endorse or denote them.
But are you in it for now? Because you care, but once it's over you can go back to normal life? Or is this something you want to commit to, and really get involved... You decide.
~~~ If you don't like IC, here are some links to other charities combating child soldiery.
OXFAM
UNICEF
SOS Children's Villages
International Rescue Commitee
Save The Children
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