The Other Side

Well, there are always 2 (or more) sides to every story. I posted yesterday regarding the KONY 2012 campaign created by the non-profit group Invisible Children. I was extremely touched by the video and felt compelled to pass it on and spread the word. However, while browsing the web today I discovered many people are critical of the work done by Invisible Children. At first I rolled my eyes and thought "Really? Is it so hard to believe that there are some people out there that are genuinely trying to do good?". Then I thought I should at least read some of the criticism so that I may have all the information, from all sides.

I'm not going to restate all the criticism out there, but will provide you with links to the articles I've read so far:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120307/kony-2012-campaign-criticized-dumbing-down-conflict

http://justiceinconflict.org/2012/03/07/taking-kony-2012-down-a-notch/

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble

I will also provide a link to Invisible Children's response to these criticisms:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html

It will definitely be interesting to see how this all plays out in the following days, weeks and so on. For now, I am leaning more toward the belief that Invisible Children's intentions are primarily good. I believe they truly want to help the afflicted Central and Eastern African countries and bring Joseph Kony to justice. Based on what I have read so far I  believe their plan and methods in doing so are appropriate. With that being said, I suggest you read all you can from all points of view and draw your own conclusions.

- Amy

Nothing is more powerful than an idea

I just learned today of a man named Joseph Kony. He is #1 on the International Criminal Courts list. He is the leader of a rebel group, The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. This group abducts children, gives them guns and forces them to kill. This has been going on for over 25 years and the LRA have abducted over 30,000 children in that time. Kony is not fighting for any cause, he is fighting only to maintain his power.

For the past 9 years a group of people in the United States have been trying to bring attention to Joseph Kony so that he may be captured and brought to justice. This group is known as Invisible Children. Their efforts had mainly been futile because the U.S. government stated they would never get involved in a conflict where their national security or financial interests weren't at stake. However, Invisible Children have been spreading the word across the world and brought enough attention to the cause to force action from the U.S. government. With hundreds of thousands of people behind them Invisible Children finally convinced them to send help to Uganda. In mid October 2012 Barack Obama authorized a small group of U.S. forces to deploy to Central Africa to assist the Ugandan Army in the removal of Joseph Kony. Unfortunately Kony and the LRA caught wind of the U.S. plan to stop them and changed their tactics to avoid capture.

If we do not show the government that we want this man captured they will pull out forces in Central Africa. We need to keep the pressure on so that they will stay and find Kony. Invisible Children has started a campaign, "KONY 2012" essentially to make him famous, not to celebrate him but to raise awareness and support.

So what can you and I do? Spread the word!! We have the power to make a difference, and show that we can come together as a global community for the greater good. Children, no matter where they live deserve a childhood free from war and violence.

**All preceding information taken from the InivisibleChildrenInc video**

Please take the time to watch this video and pass it on.




- Amy