BY MAUD N E SCHRAM
For most of us at Mariemont High School, war is an institution that we learn about in our textbooks and encounter in media sources. Most of us have never seen actual war. But Mariemont is not a prototype for the world. In numerous regions around the globe, including central Africa, children not only experience war, but many are kidnapped and forced to become child soldiers.
On Monday, March 5th, 2012, Invisible Children released a short video documentary: “Kony 2012.” Invisible Children (IC) is a non-profit organization, whose goal is to share Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony’s atrocities and get him arrested. Over the past 26 years, Joseph Kony has abducted over 66,000 children in central Africa after not receiving support for his army, the LRA, Lord’s Resistance Army.
Since then, the video has been viewed over 100 million times.
After the video’s release, critics flocked the Internet. There are three main viewpoints: (1) Some fully support Invisible Children; (2) Some viewers are against Invisible Children; (3) Other viewers believe Invisible Children is doing good by bringing awareness, but disagree with how the non-profit spends their donations.
Okema Denis Fred, a Ugandan politician, says, “The timing of Kony 2012 is wrong because the Ugandan people no longer look at the problem that IC is trying to portray, the people have moved beyond that, through peaceful means. ”
News sources, such as CNN and the Huffington Post have released multiple articles and blog posts concerning the issue. These news broadcasters share multiple viewpoints, trying to shed light into a complicated matter.
Yet news broadcasters and politicians are not the only ones who have strong opinions.
Senior Mackenzie Shelley has researched the issue. “I don’t think anyone would argue that stopping Kony is a bad thing; however, my research has led me to believe that Invisible Childrens’ approach to stopping him is both manipulative and ineffective,” says Shelley. Shelley believes that many facts have been misrepresented, including where Kony’s army currently is and how Ugandan people feel in regards to the video.
While some people agree with it and support much of what IC and the International Criminal Court (ICC) are doing, a great number of Ugandans do not. Mr. Denis says, “A lasting solution to any conflict has to be local and only reinforced by external pressure; the people and the parties in conflict need to own the process – which is why the ICC has failed to win the hearts of the LRA victims.”
Senior Rebecca Adams supports Invisible Children and the Kony 2012 video. Yet she says, “I have heard from other sources that in order to stop [Kony], some of the children soldiers have been killed, so it is really complicated.”
At the end of the documentary, IC promotes the sale of their Kony 2012 package, which comes with a t-shirt, bracelet, guidebook and posters. Adams adds, “I have not bought the pack; I’d rather make my own signs to promote his name and help others to know about this, instead of trusting in the Invisible Children.”
Other students have supported that same opinion. “ No I did not (purchase the pack) because of the questionable criticism that I have heard, but I still support the letting-people-know-about-it aspect,” says senior Nate Wagner.
In all, a majority of the students interviewed support the end of Joseph Kony and his arrest. Yet, many have differentiating beliefs on how that should be done, and more importantly, by who.
