For those of you know don’t know who Kony is or what he’s up to, I’m going to briefly outline the biggest fad coursing through our generation since.. Well, since skinny jeans I suppose.
Starting in the 80’s there was a group against the then-president of Uganda, called the Holy Spirit Movement. There was some support of this group, but when its leader was exiled, a man named Joseph Kony took over. He renamed them the Lord’s Resistance Army, and promptly lost all of the support the group had in the area. This led him to begin the raids and thievery he is now well known for. He stole goods to feed his army and abducted children to BE his army. They travel at night, which means nobody feels safe at home in their villages anymore. In the 26 or so years that the Lord’s Resistance Army has been in action, it has abducted over 30,000 children from Uganda. This was never stopped because nobody knew about it, but now there’s an organization called Invisible Children, who are campaigning to raise awareness about Kony and get enough government support to find him and put an end to his reign of terror. For more information, here’s the video they put out, which is ALL the rage these days: http://vimeo.com/37119711
Since the recent dramatic increase in awareness of the KONY 2012 campaign, I have decided to look into this further, just to be sure I’m supporting a worthy organization. There has been a huge influx of new supporters, as well as doubters of the Invisible Children group and the validity of what they are fighting for. When I saw that such doubts were being brought forward, I wanted to know what was really going on, and NOT just by looking it up on Wikipedia. First off I would like to address the issue people have with the LRA not being in Uganda anymore. This is TRUE, their presence has moved north and west. Why is this an issue for some people? I don’t know. The Invisible Children’s campaign first started with a focus on Uganda, but that doesn’t mean that since the LRA are no longer as strong there that the problem is dealt with. It does not matter where they are, because what they’re doing is still wrong and needs to stop.
I would also like to talk about the rumour of the LRA’s disbanding and the dramatic decrease of child abductions. As far as I can see in my research, both of these are also TRUE. From what I’ve read, it seems that the foundational support of Kony has shrunk to a much smaller core group than there was before. They have divided into smaller factions and continue to raid and terrorize villages across four African countries. Again, although some people find this decrease in presence as reason enough to not worry about the rebellion anymore, the fact remains that there are still people being killed, children being abducted, and it’s gone on for over 20 years. This needs to stop. Add to this the issue of Kony regaining followers throughout the four countries if pursuit of him is slowed. Every political group and movement has its times of strength and weakness. This may be a time of regrouping for Kony’s supporters, not a permanent decline of his presence. The LRA is still dangerous, now more than ever in my opinion. What have they got to lose? There is almost no chance of mercy on this organization’s members, so they are fighting for their lives at this point.
In my opinion, this is still a rebel movement that needs to be put to an end before it can regain its strength. I have yet to find any solid proof of Invisible Children being a fraudulent organization (which was yet another accusation brought up). I still see this as a cause and group worth my time and effort. Researching news on Joseph Kony and the LRA has probably brought this campaign closer to my heart than it was before. I encourage everyone to NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT and actually go find out the truth for themselves. There are articles and government sites that hold plenty of information that you can use to make up your mind. This entire post is simply my opinion based on knowledge I’ve gained from a small amount of research. I’m just as prone to bias as the next person. Now, that being said, I would also like to encourage you who have taken this campaign to heart, to not let it become a trend. Yes it’s on facebook and twitter and all the big celebrities are behind it and so are your friends... But don’t bother pretending to care if you’re not going to do something about it. Those are real people out there whose lives are being changed and even ending because of Joseph Kony’s rebel group. If you find something you become truly passionate about, then it’s worth your time and effort to help make a difference.
C’mon now, help make a little history.
