Setting aside the financial questions about Invisible Children, there is much else to question about the now-viral “Kony 2012” campaign — a social media “awareness” effort aimed at bringing notoriety to Joseph Kony, a Ugandan military leader whose army, known as the Lord’s Resistant Army, has kidnapped and trained tens of thousands of child soldiers.
For background, I was first introduced to Invisible Children in high school, I’ve seen their documentaries and own at least one of their books.
Addressing tribal and military conflicts in war-torn regions of Africa is certainly a worthy cause and there is much to commend about the Kony 2012 campaign.
Kony 2012 is the prototype for what a modern social issue campaign should look like. The message is concise, the presentation is sleek and the film’s emotional narrative tugs at the hearts of privileged young Americans.
But “awareness” doesn’t end military conflicts; especially not those entrenched in decades of corrupt government, child warfare and massive bloodshed.
Arresting Kony makes for an effective rallying cry, but it is not an acceptable endgame for any campaign truly focused on addressing the woes plaguing Africa’s eastern region.
Equally troubling is the idea that the U.S. government should overlook the atrocities being committed by the Ugandan government in order to catch one man who is no longer in the country and whose power and influence has waned.
Invisible Children argues that we should empower the Ugandan government to track down and capture Kony, but overlooks the glaring human rights violations being committed by that very government.
Ugandan government officials are well known for the theocratic killing of homosexuals while also raping and looting in their own villages.
But that backstory can’t be communicated with a cute hashtag. It’s too long to include in 140 characters or even on a well-designed poster.
Rather than mindlessly sharing a video that tugged at your emotions, how about first finding Uganda on a map and then researching the dark modern history of many of the African leaders whose governments we’ve propped up.
True peace is not sustainable in many parts of Africa until accountable regional governments are in place. Propping up the Ugandan government would only continue the long American history of supporting repressive governments in Africa and elsewhere.
We line the pockets of government leaders and place American weapons in their hands while the people — the same children who made you cry during the documentary — continue to face disease, enslavement and oppression.
Kony shouldn’t be the enemy, American ignorance of the complexity of the problems plaguing many regions of the world — while we’re busy tweeting — should be.
Wesley Lowery is a senior studying journalism and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Give him your take of the Kony 2012 campaign at wl372808@ohiou.edu.
