The Question of Africa

In light of the viral video "Kony 2012" uploaded by the Invisible Children group, I would like to voice some of my opinions and thoughts about this movement. Two years ago in a morning leadership class, my peers and I were shown a video that introduced to us for the very first time the conflict between the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan state. The leader of the LRA rebels is a man named Joseph Kony, the world's most wanted war criminal. You might ask yourself, what does a man have to do to become so sought after? In a world full of many evils, it's hard to imagine that a prioritized list of the most wanted criminals is possible - how are such decisions made? I can't attest to that process, but I can tell you what Kony has done to get to the top. For about 26 years, this man has used his rebel army to move into vulnerable villages and abduct children - both boys and girls - from their families. The boys are turned into child soldiers, forced to kill on command, while the girls are forced to become sex slaves in the army. Ask yourself this: is this any way for a child to live, if "living" is in fact what these kids are doing?

A friend of mine introduced me to this blog post: http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/, which presents very valid arguments as well. I am not very well-versed in the current affairs of Uganda, but I understand the author's points well enough. I think that although LRA forces have retreated, the question of Kony's capture still remains. While rebel attacks may have ceased on Ugandan territory, other problems have arisen instead - problems that we must understand at the core before we mindlessly throw money at them. I will, however, try to address these issues in a later post.

The Kony 2012 campaign proposed by Invisible Children is simple: purchase action kits (which include posters, flyers, t-shirts, bracelets, and stickers), gather in a public area, and plaster your city with them. Some may argue that this will contribute nothing to the cause, that defacing buildings with these posters is disrespectful. And to these people, I will tell them that I understand their point. After all, who's going to clean up after we post Joseph Kony's picture everywhere? But my counter-argument is that everything needs to be put into perspective. Nobody knew who Kony was before this video went viral. The US government never sent aid to Uganda because it wasn't economically or politically beneficial to the American state. Now, after much support has been witnessed, the US sent 100 advisors to Uganda to aid its army - this is a start. The purpose of spreading Kony's face around cities and streets is to raise awareness - Kony has lived in the shadows for too long, eluding arrest and continuing to strike terror into hearts. We need to let our governments know that we will not stand idle while our fellow members of the human family are suffering deeply. Abducting children from their families and forcing them into harmful situations is most definitely a violation of human rights, but universal human rights mean very little if the most powerful nation in the world - the United States - will not stand behind it. We need the US, and other governments, to join the fight. But the fight cannot stop here - I urge the masses to contact their local representatives and let them know that we want Kony, and hopefully other war criminals in the future, caught and reprimanded. Above all, I want every person who has watched, shared, or commented on the video to take away at least this one thing - we hold the power to change the world if we truly want to. Maybe before you watched the video, you had never thought of anything going on outside North American borders. Many will accuse this generation of "jumping on the bandwagon" of international aid simply because everyone seems to be doing it. And you know what, maybe that's how this thing started out for many of you. But this can become so much bigger than any of us - I hope that the video inspired a change within each and every person who's watched it, or in the very least, opened their eyes to the brutal realities of the world. I hope that, in the wake of this phenomenon, you have been pushed towards a genuine desire to help the ones in such need.

I decided to shed light on my views towards the Joseph Kony issue because of a personal connection I have with Africa myself. Last year, I was blessed with an amazing opportunity to travel to Ethiopia to learn about the water crisis and how the organization I was traveling with (HOPE International) engaged with the communities to create brighter futures. Now, I realize that my time in Ethiopia has little in common with the conflict in Uganda, but the point I'm trying to stress is that, no matter how far away somebody lives, they have just as much of a right as I do to a fulfilling life. The people of Uganda deserve security in their homes and children should not have to be subjected to such terrible treatment. When I went to Ethiopia, it finally dawned on me just how lucky we are to live in North America. It's something we are all told when we grow up, but it will never solidify in your mind until you witness the hardships that others elsewhere in the world must endure. In spite of impoverished (by North American standards) circumstances, the people I met had an appreciation for life. Where I visited, there was no fear of political instability or attack. The children I spent time with were some of the happiest kids I've seen, and their happiness came from being able to attend school and live relatively healthily. The child soldiers of the LRA are denied these opportunities.

I wish I could write more, but I really need to stop staying up until 2:00am. In the coming days, I hope to post more detailed stories about my time in Ethiopia, but this topic just couldn't wait any longer.

If you haven't already seen the video, take some time out of your day and watch. It's a little lengthy, but it's worth looking at.