Over the past two weeks, the issue of children soldiers in Uganda has been put to light by the release of a 30 minute video by members of the organization Invisible Children.
Invisible Children is a non-government, private organization that has pledged to stop the violence committed against thousands of African children by a man named Joseph Kony.
When I walked in school on March 5, half the crowd was talking about stopping Kony, while the other half was scrambling, trying to find out who Kony was and why he needed to be brought to justice. After watching the video, many of my peers’ reactions were as horrified and disgusted as mine.
On March 6, however, a new topic came to light. Financial problems with, and accusations against, Invisible Children.
Let’s face it, in this world, whenever someone tries to do something “selfless,” motives are questioned. But very few times have I seen an attack so vigorous on an organization that has only to aid helpless children who were captured and tortured by this monster of a man.
Invisible Children has held its ground. The organization responded to every accusation, one by one, on its website, providing links and reviews to other websites to confirm its statements.
Here are the most common accusations and questions I have come across, and a quick answer to clear the confusions.
Accusation: Only 32 percent of Invisible Children’s profits go to helping the children.
Answer: First of all, the primary goal of the organization is to raise awareness, not donate money. But even then, according to http://www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html, 80.46 percent of the profits go to their three-fold-mission, which consists of awareness, advocacy and on-the-ground missions. Last time I checked, all of those are helping the children in some way. Making people aware of the problem is crucial to any solution. Trying to lobby key politicians into helping the cause can raise awareness on a national level. On-the-ground missions are self-explanatory; the organization helps rescue kids from Uganda and other surrounding African countries themselves.
Accusation: A lot of the money Invisible Children raises will go to the Ugandan Army, which has been condemned for using violent methods.
Answer: While it is true that the Ugandan Army has been very violent, no money from Invisible Children goes to them directly. This rumor started with a picture of the Board members with a soldier holding a bazooka. The picture was taken as a joke, a family memorabilia. It was meant to say that these people were fighting for peace, yet they had guns. It was meant in an ironic sense. It went viral, and that is how the rumor of the money going to the army started.
Accusation: Kony is not even in Uganda anymore, so the army is practically dead.
Answer: While it is true that Kony is not in Uganda anymore and the LRA downsized their activities in Uganda when the Juba Peace Talks began, they are nowhere near dead. They are currently active in DR Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan. Since 2008, the LRA has killed 2600 and abducted at least 4000, according to http://www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html.
Accusation: Kony is dead.
Answer: According to the United Nations, on Dec 2, 2011, an abductee escaped into a town in the Central African Republic and reported that Kony was alive and well aware of the U.S. military deployment in the region.
Accusation: The Ugandans do not agree with Invisible Children and many are outraged with the inconsistencies in the movie.
Answer: It is very difficult to analyze the people of Uganda as a whole. Reactions among the Ugandans have been mixed. Like everywhere else in the world, many Ugandans strongly support the message that the video poses, and others agree with the message but do not necessarily agree with the means used by Invisible Children.
My personal plea is this: do some more research before putting out accusations and reaching conclusions about delicate topics such as this.
