Alright so this KONY 2012 movement has recently heightened due to the fact that this is the last year that the president of the United States will do anything about it. After having read some mixed feelings on Facebook about the said “legit-ness” of this movement, I decided to go out and do a little research. I mean... yes I will admit, I jumped on this KONY bandwagon, merely because of its message... but after having jumped I began to think to myself, “okay why am I suddenly on this wagon, yet have no idea what it is about or what is going on.” Now many Facebook users (adults, teens, tweens, and the like) honestly know nothing about this movement. I can say that with full belief because after having done my research I understood that even I didn’t know what on earth was going on. So for all the people that are taking the time to read this right now, here is an overlook on what the situation has been and is about.
Let’s just start out by saying that it is obvious to note that the Ugandan government has partaken in violence throughout the nation’s history. So yes, they have not only exhibited violence and killing civilians, but a lot has changed (government displaying violence wise) since the beginning.
The beginning of the Ugandan crisis stems from the fighting Ugandan People’s Democratic Army (UPDA) against the National Resistance Army (NRA). Now, the NRA was created in 1986 by a man named Museveni and gained its power via a military coup that ended the decades of dictators in Uganda. Seems like an okay army right? Not so much. This army violated peace treaties and inserted violence into the Ugandan nation. Because of all of this “back stabbing” the people decided to create the UPDA to defend the northern Ugandan’s against NRA. However, the UPDA did not last long and ended up signing a peace treaty with the NRA, and it prevailed once again.
Next came to rise of the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) led by Lakwena. Lakwena’s goal was to purify the Acholi society (people of Sudan) and to liberate the northern people away from the NRA. However, once again the NRA found its way into defeating the HSM.
Now here comes the important information that is relevant to this whole KONY movement. Joseph Kony formed UPDA member and Catholic preacher, founded the Uganda Christian Democratic Army in 1988 (later renamed Lord’s Resistance Army in 1991). This army attacked local civilians that got in his way of trying to purify and marginalize the Acholi people. In essence he felt that he was supposed to take on the work of Lakwena. And if you really want to make a comparison... let’s take a look at Hitler, did he not want to get rid of people who interfered with his vision of an Arian society? Kony’s army proceeded to lose members of his army due to the lack of support and feelings of forced enlistment. So what did Kony do? He turned towards the children of Uganda. He began to abduct them from their homes and proceeded to force them into his army. How did he use this? It was the skilled use of psychological warfare that Kony was able to turn some of the children against their families to feel as if being abducted was okay. As if this wasn’t horrible enough, he turned the girls that he abducted into sex slaves and made them become the wives of some of his commanders. Furthermore, he made the children mutilate their own families using weapons such as machetes and other kinds of blunt objects.
In 1996, the Ugandan government finally opened its eyes and saw that there was a problem going on within its society and created “protected villages” that people could escape to in order to be protected from the LRA. These villages failed, and it prevailed to be a nightmare for the Ugandan people. In the year 2004, the Ugandan government tried to institute safe camps for the children to escape to. About 1.7 million people came to these camps. Due to the “horrible-ness” of these camps, later in 2005 it was reported that almost 1,000 people were dying each week due to the poor conditions. These conditions being starvation, poor sanitation, trauma, and diseases (highly HIV/AIDS).
After refusing to negotiate in peace talks, Joseph Kony was cited by the International Criminal Court as a criminal on charges of war crimes and humanity crimes. The citing has caused him to become the number ONE person on their list. Unbelievable. In 2008, there was another failed peace attempt, mainly because Kony did not show up and decided to proceed to kidnap and harm children instead.
In December of 2008, with the help of the United States troops, the Ugandan Army tried to launch and operation (Operation Lightening Thunder) in order to surprise the rebel leaders who were ordering attacks on civilians and also an attempt to find the location Kony. However, Kony learned of the plan and moved his location and hasn’t been sighted or heard of since.
Invisible Children is an organization that was founded by 3 men after their visit to Uganda in 2003. In 2005, they released a video Invisible Children: Rough Cut which displayed the horrors that they encountered during their visit. This is real footage, it has not been fabricated, it has not been made up. They have been tracking the situation of the LRA and the abductions of children in Ugandan, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They have met a young boy, Jacob, and they know his story and they know how horrible the situation actually is. Their main concern: freeing the children from a horrible situation.
What is the reason of KONY 2012 hype now? The reason is because after taking their concern to Washington D.C. and President Obama okaying the deployment of U.S. Troops to help Ugandan Army with the situation, he told them that this was the last year that the troops would be in Uganda. Why? There has been no foreseen movement of Kony since 2008 and therefore they are getting no where and are no longer seeing this as an important need for Americans to be paying attention to. The founders of Invisible Children see this as an important need for Americans to see, which is why they are urging everyone to become aware of the situation, for the CHILDREN’S SAKE. Think about it... would you want your sons, daughters, brothers, or sisters to be in a situation like this? “Well were not in that situation so I do not have to think about it” many of you may be thinking, however we need to think outside of the box and think about what really matters. What do you think we could have done with the tools and resources that we have today that we could have done to help the victims of the Holocaust? Would you sit around and do nothing or would you try to do something to know that you were trying to help a good cause?
As for the whole bandwagon crap going around. You know what... band wagons need to happen. It really irks me when people say “get lost all you band wagon people” or something of that nature. For example, this past Super Bowl between the Patriots and the Giants obviously the nation is going to have band wagon people because for starters their team is either out and rooting for one or they are simply just rooting for one team because they are rivals to their or something of the like. Now this band wagon is different than that of sports, but this band wagon needs to get rolling and it is for a good thing. America has been so critical lately, of everything. It does not hurt for someone to suddenly become moved or motivated by a situation for a day. Honestly.
Why the sudden blow up? The fact that new technology has come to rise since the release of the Invisible Children video in 2005. I think the thing right now is that they are utilizing the fact that social networking is a lot bigger than it was 20 years ago and even from 6 years ago when the documentary was first released. I think they are reintroducing the message and what is happening to the new generations and to the new users of YouTube and Facebook and Twitter. They are showing how effective the media is and are demonstrating how people can move together and let their voices be heard. It's how policies happen, they can't go unignored.
What do you think the point of a 30 minute video is? To un-educate people or to educate them... To re-educate the people who of have known about the issue and to educate those who have no idea about it... They educate and then they invite. They do not beg and plead for donation or for people to partake in this movement. They are asking and letting people know how they can do something whether it's putting up posters, sharing the video, making a donation, talking about it or writing about it. They are informing people of how not to be a bystander. People may not know the in depth nature about the situation, but from the video they learn enough to act and make a choice to help these people have their voices be heard.
I think a lot people know and understand that it has been an issue for a while, a least the policy makers. The Invisible Children organization is just trying to make sure that it doesn't get forgotten because it is a real and serious issue. And honestly people can print their own posters and what not they do not necessarily need to pay. And some people if they feel impassioned to do so can donate a one time amount. I think the people buying these kits are schools and other organizations. I do not think its individuals who are buying it, but then again may be they are...
The job that the organization hopes for people all over the world to do is this: BLOW IT UP.... teens, college students, adults, and they like. Watch this video because some generations missed out on what was happening in 2005 and prior and some were too young to understand and realize what's going on. It is important to blow it up to get it to the policy makers and bring it back with strength.
For all of those who say that the LRA has been inactive... yes they have been inactive in Uganda since 2006, however they are carrying out their mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Sudan. This issue is still current and it is still relevant, and unless it can be stopped and noted around the world, it will continue to go on.
This is all just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt. Interpret it with what you will.
Facts stem from:
