Ok this is an interesting and possibly difficult topic to write about and I begin to wish I had some degree of journalism in me but lets just get on with it. KONY.
First and foremost I should get this out of the way,
Joseph Kony is an evil man. He should be brought to justice and tried for his crimes against humanity. He is responsible for the abduction of children into his army, murder, rape, mutilation, sex trafficking and countless other crimes. He must be brought to justice.
Now in the past few days the power of the internet and social media has sent "MakeKonyFamous" into the stratosphere. For those very few of you still in the dark about this a NGO (Non-governmental organization) called Invisible Children has released a stylishly edited video, exposing Kony and his despicable actions of the the population of Uganda and the Congo. This thing has gone global, taking over Facebook, Twitter and being passed on by celebrities, "celebrities" and politicians alike. While I agree with many of the views and ideas brought up by the video and the organisation itself, the concern about how quickly this has taken over the world led me to do a little investigating, as often with these "social fads" the quicker and bigger they become, the quicker they die down and are forgotten.
So looking into Invisible Children led to a few articles criticising the organisation so rather than jump on the band wagon, shove the video down your throat and tell you "DO SOMETHING! I DON'T KNOW WHAT BUT DO IT!" I'm just going to share both sides of the argument and let you draw your own conclusions.
Just to clarify, the two sides are Invisible Children and their opposition of Joseph Kony, and those that believe it may be doing more harm than good, NOT that Joseph Kony should be freed or that any of his actions are justifiable.
Now Invisible Children was started nearly a decade ago in light of the atrocity in Uganda and like I said I understand their goals to shed light on this man, raise awareness in the world in an attempt to get the people of the world, and it's leaders to pay attention and do something. Clearly they have succeeded. However the organisation wants America to help the Ugandan Army to mobilise and neutralise this threat and that's where the problems surface. For one, Kony hasn't been active in Uganda for over 5 years, hiding in the jungles of the Congo, apparently sick, weakened, and dying. The video portrays him as a ruthless monster still haunting the nights of these people, and apparently this just isn't so. The second problem lies in the Ugandan Army being notorious for their own rape and looting of it's own civilians, information which the Kony video neglects to mention. Finally there is the inevitable surge of "action" in response to the video and what many are referring to as "the white mans burden". Many people are jumping on the band wagon and flying off to these countries blindly in a bid to help, with no idea what to do, how to do it, or even if they are actually needed. Add to this the somewhat shady financial information (I understand that producing videos and necessary tools of promotion + travel cost money but it still seems an awful lot of money going elsewhere) of the Invisible Children and it leaves me wondering is it right to jump up and yell "I'm going to do something too! I don't know what but I must because everyone else is! And surely all the other people following blindly must know what to do right? Right?"
But like I said I'm not here to pass judgement or force you to send all your money to Invisible Children without a second thought because they made a very well edited video. Neither am I going to tell you to ignore or rebel against the cause because it has some underlying issues. I'm just asking you to open your eyes and look a little deeper before making any rash decisions. I'll leave you with a few pieces of information from both sides of the argument and ask you to look into them all before you start ordering your wrist bands and stickers or hating on them.
Invisible Children Facebook Page
Stop Kony - The Independent Blog
IC Charity Financial Information Please take note of the % of fundraising expenses compared to program and administrative.
I have the utmost respect for Activists, Charity workers and people who truly make a difference to the world but please don't follow blindly because the masses and celebrities are. Sometimes it can do more harm than good. Thank you.
"We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight." - John Lennon
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