An operation, which launched 26 years ago by Ugandan running man Joseph Kony, is now in the process of being permanently halted by supporters and members of the Invisible Children. You all may have heard about this controversial issue, which some may say has literally erupted into a global awareness overnight, via an emotionally fueled YouTube video. BC has had the pleasure of hosting the Invisible Children’s organization in the N-building. Guests were welcomed with Domino’s pizza and a hallway adorned with tables full of KONY 2012 wristbands, T-shirts, bumper-stickers, regular stickers and of course, for all the supreme supporters the notorious “action kits.”
The evening began with a speaker who thanked everyone in attendance and told the audience about the surprise of everyone who were initially involved with Invisible Children before the famous video aired. “We were hoping for 500,000 views, now… I think it’s over 100,000,000 views,” said the house speaker for Invisible Children.
Invisible Children were “oversimplifying a wildly complex issue.” The Invisible Children were hoping to clear up this accusation that essentially labels the KONY 2012 movement a scam to get money. It was because of this that the Invisible Children came out with a KONY 2012 Part 2 video.
The video delved into a mash up of the news stories and interviews regarding the Invisible Children’s movement. It emphasized the intentions of all who support and are involved with Invisible Children. We could hear the voice of Jason Russell, the leader of this organization and director of the infamous videos seen at high schools, colleges, and on YouTube. He words together pieces of empathy and action into a collaboratively passionate statement: “The idea behind KONY 2012 is not new. For the first time in human history, people of the world can see each other and want to protect each other… the global community is in their backyard.”
According to the video and the words of the house speaker for the organization, what began as an attempt to overthrow the Ugandan Islamic government and rule under the Ten Commandments evaporated into a blind, fear-driven movement controlled by Joseph Kony. He is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, better known as the L.R.A., comprised of young women and men who have been abducted from their families. The women would become sex slaves and the men child soldiers. Since 2008, the L.R.A. has killed 12,500 people and displaced over 440,000 people. Currently, the L.R.A. has no political purpose except to withhold the power of the leader Joseph Kony so he can continue to rule and escape his long awaited capture. He has since fled the country of Uganda, but has retreated to Southern Sudan, the D.R. of Congo and the Central African Republic. Apparently, he is now residing in a jungle the size of California, where the U.S. advisers deployed by Obama are assisting the Ugandan military in searching for him
The film closed with tactics the Invisible Children have created in hopes of effectively emancipating the child soldiers who have been brainwashed and exploited. The tactics are civilian protection, peaceful surrender, supporting rehabilitation and reconstruction (of the child soldiers and war-torn communities), and lastly to arrest the top L.R.A. officials.
The night followed with a testimony by a woman named Oko Subia, who was a former victim in Africa. “I want you to know that I am not sitting back even though he has left my country. I am fighting to see justice prevail, knowing that the whole world wants to see justice.”
Invisible Children provided time for a Q & A session at the very end.