Kony 2012 Revolution

                                      

I am a small group leader for 8^th grade girls at my church. A few weeks ago we met at Orange Leaf to have our group time and while I was loading my pineapple flavored yogurt bowl with white chocolate chips, fruity pebbles, and cookie dough – which was an epic blend of YUM, and overheard a few of my girls talking about a guy named Kony. My automatic thought was that this kid is probably another pointless and silly love affair that one of my girls is smitten over.

            We sat down with our yogurts and I asked “What happened to the other guy and who is Kony?”  All the girls looked at me with a face that said “You don’t know?!” Then every girl, at the same time, had an answer that I did not expect to hear.

It’s Joseph Kony actually, and he is an indicted Ugandan war criminal that has triggered a massive worldwide movement called “Stop Kony”- a social action taking place right now! Let me first brief you as to who this guy is and what he’s all about.Kony has been the leader of a Ugandan guerrilla group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) since 1986. For 26 years, he has been kidnapping kids into this rebel group. He turns the girls into sex slaves and gives the boy’s guns and they become soldiers and are later forced to kill their own parents, families and neighbors so that they have no choice but to stay with his Army. An estimated 66,000 children have become soldiers and 2 million people have been internally displaced. Countries like Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic live in fear of their children getting captured or killed, their homes set fire, and their families murdered in front of them. And because of his crimes against humanity, in 2002, Joseph Kony was the first guy to be indicted by the International Criminal Court. Imagine what you think the ICC’s registry looks like, how many names are on it, how many crimes they committed, and what kind of crimes they did to put them on this list. Out of all the warlords, dictators and murders across the globe, the perversity of Kony’s crimes made him first on the worlds worst criminals list. 

Now that you know how great this guy is, let’s talk about something truly great. A non-profit organization called Invisible Children started and is running this universal crusade. Invisible Children has been working for 9 years to help end Africa’s longest running armed conflict and to stop Kony and disarm the LRA. This aid organization created a 30 minute film called Kony 2012. The film’s main objective is to promote the charity’s “Stop Kony” movement to make Kony internationally known and “famous” in order to arrest him in 2012.The film has spread virally and as of this past weekend, there have been over 80 million views on YouTube. When I was talking with my small group girls, they pointed me in the direction of YouTube to watch the video. I strongly encourage you to  take the time to watch this video.

  You may be wondering, as I did, if Kony has been doing all of these things for 2 decades, why now? If these malicious acts can be carried out with no retribution for so long, why the publicity and exposure now? For those two decades, Kony has refused opportunities to negotiate an end to the violence peacefully; instead he used the peace talks to build up his army’s strength by targeting more abduction campaigns. 

And the targeted countries that I previously listed have been unable to capture him because governments are often not wholly committed to the task, but also their lack of specific capabilities that would help them do so.Furthermore, we have become a media driven society and word spreads fast over the internet. You see a video on YouTube that you really like, what do you do? You share it!! The vision of “Stop Kony” is to use awareness to bring forth action. And action will be taken on April of 2012 by those who choose to act.

U.S. and international efforts are teaming up to implement a comprehensive strategy for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration. The United States military have already deployed advisers in Central Africa on a “time-limited” mission to find and arrest Joseph Kony. But if Kony isn’t captured this year, the window will be gone. In order for the American advisers to be there and to stay, our government needs the assurance that people care about arresting Kony; otherwise the mission will be cancelled. The campaign Kony 2012 is making Kony a household name. Not to celebrate him, but to bring his crimes to the light. All of these efforts will merge on April 20^th. They are calling it Cover the Night. People across the country and around the world will blanket streets, buildings, signs, cars and put up his name. That way, it can’t be ignored; demanding justice at every corner. Kony 2012 is taking place now, as we speak. It’s bigger than just some internet video getting millions of hits. This movement is a prime example of how deciding to act can change the course of history. Please refer to my resources if by chance, you are in doubt of this information.

Resources:

  30,000+ children abducted in Uganda by the LRA
Source (2007): http://www.worldvision.com.au/Libraries/3_1_1_-_Issues_-_Children/Child_soldiers_Uganda.pdf

  66,000 youth (interviewed when 14-30 years old) abducted by the LRA
Source (2006): http://chrisblattman.com/documents/policy/sway/SWAY.Phase1.FinalReport.pdf?9d7bd4

  2.1 million people displaced in Uganda
Source (2010): http://ochaonline.un.org/ocha2010/uganda.html

  440,000 people displaced in DRC, CAR, and South Sudan:
Source (2011): http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/map_1044.pdf