kony 2012

The phenomenon that is social media rose up in all its power and glory this past week. The organization known as Invisible Children, a wildly popular and highly effective non-profit that has provided awareness and funds surrounding the child-soldier issue in northern Uganda, released its latest film on Tuesday. In just two days, it has been viewed 32 million times and quickly harnessed the attention of celebs like Oprah, Sean Combs and Rihanna. 32 million hits!! All because of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube. (And a very likable filmmaker with his incredibly adorable son in tow.)

The film, a beautifully produced and heart wrenching piece, proclaims that Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA (the rebels responsible for a grisly 20-year-long civil war) needs to become a household name. By wearing Kony 2012 bracelets and waving Kony 2012 banners, we all can come together for this cause and bring about his demise by influencing governments and militia. We can do it: we can end the conflict in northern Uganda.

Invisible Children has been admirably responsible for teaching middle/high school and college students about the desperate situation in northern Uganda. The organization deserves huge props for that. Kids who couldn't point to Uganda on a world map before now know where it is and that there are tens of thousands of young children from this place who were abducted, raped, forced to become soldiers, forced to maim or murder their own families and/or condemned to a life of overwhelming emotional despair. Kids in America, primarily those from middle class white suburbs, jump on the IC bandwagon and feel good about helping kids in Uganda. I can speak from experience: it does feel good to help.

The problem is, these targeted young people (and the adults with whom they share their enthusiasm) often don't take the time to do much (if any) research on their own. They click a button on their Facebook page, buy an "action kit", attend the rallies and watch the films without digging deep to understand the complexities inherent in a long, messy civil war. It's simplistic to suggest that by "making Kony famous" we can bring about the change needed to snuff out the evil ways of the "bad guy" and that we can then call ourselves the "good guys".

It's enormously encouraging that so many want to help. There is obviously a real hunger on the part of America's youth to do the right thing. IC needs to be careful, though, not to suggest that Africa can't take care of itself - that we white saviors need to mount our steeds and gallop in to save the day. This, too, is a simplistic, unrealistic and disrespectful approach. (It is something that often haunts me as I run my own small non-profit that provides assistance to Ugandan children. As hard as we try to empower those we help to help themselves, we surely can be cast in this same light from time to time.)

"The anti-apartheid movement of the 80s, the debt relief movement of the 90s and the Save Darfur movement just a few years ago all showed us that legislation, peace agreements, foreign aid and International Criminal Court arrest warrants don’t always end suffering. For conflict zones like this, there must be global political will focused on longterm security, peace-building, development, and investment in local leadership and capacity building." (from an article by Semhar Araia , founder of the Diaspora African Women’s Network)

I hope all the energy that is now at a furious boil on Facebook and Twitter can be captured and used in positive ways. I also hope people will take the time to try and understand what's going on in northern Uganda and discover for themselves the best way to truly provide support and/or bring about change. Sadly, I don't think it's as easy at this extraordinary film says it is.

If you'd like to read the complete article by Semhar Araia, please click here.

To read a blog post concerning this issue from a couple living and working in northern Uganda, click here.

To view the IC film, KONY 2012, please click here.