On Kony 2012 and Talking

If you haven't been under a rock for the last three days, you've probably at least heard about the Kony 2012 video produced and released by Invisible Children, Inc.  If you haven't, let me Reader's Digest this for you even moreso than the 30 minute documentary/propaganda film (depending on who you're asking) managed to:

Joseph Kony is took over leadership of a Ugandan rebel group in 1987 and renamed it the LRA (or Lord's Resistance Army).  Since then, the LRA has been responsible for the kidnapping of children who have been forced to fight as child soldiers or serve as sex slaves for higher-ranking LRA officers.  Despite having mostly left Uganda since 2006, the LRA still operates in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Kony is ranked high on the International Criminal Court's list of indicted war criminals.  Invisible Children released a 30-minute film to YouTube three days ago called "Kony 2012," the goal of which they claimed was to make Joseph Kony a famous household name by the end of 2012, as a way to push for his arrest and the disarmament of the LRA.

Now, there's also been quite a bit of blow-back since the video went viral -- bloggers, activists, and media outlets have been reacting to the video in a lot of negative ways, and for good reason.  Among those: the idea that IC supports direct military intervention by the Ugandan army, which is  responsible for some atrocities in its own right; the fact that close inspection of where and how Invisible Children uses its money is questionable; the idea that the video is framed in such a way that reeks of Western Colonialism's "White Man's Burden" to rescue the helpless Africans...  And all of these are valid complaints.

But I think about this Kony 2012 movement, and I think back to when Falling Whistles came to U of R.  I was kind of disappointed with the quality of the people who were speaking and the amount they seemed to know about a cause that they so vehemently claimed to stand for.  I remember when a woman who had worked as an activist and aide in the Congo  for years told us to keep a close eye on what Falling Whistles was doing on the ground -- and being incredibly disappointed with the answer.

But I was still happy to have the organization speaking on campus, because while they may not be going about it right, they got a discussion going.  People just generally don't know about some of the really crazy, horrible things going on in the world, and if nothing else, I stand behind IC's attempt to at least shed light on the idea that SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT about the fact that people don't even know who Joseph Kony is.  I'm not telling you to run out and donate all your money to Invisible Children or to blindly support some cause without at least thinking about it for yourself.  I'm not even saying I know what the right thing to do is... I'm just saying, I like the fact that the discussion has even started.  That's something.

Talk to me,
Rachel Leigh

On Things Bigger Than Myself

I am blessed, darling readers.  Now, I don't tend to use the word "blessed" a lot, but I am blessed.  I am blessed to live in a country where our elections are relatively free and fair and where I do not need to fear that I might be raped, killed, or abducted on the way to the polls.

I am blessed to live in a place where I do not have to fear for my life, where I have not ever known someone who has been forced into slavery or war.  I am blessed to live in a place where I can enjoy more comforts that the modern world has to offer than I will ever realistically need.

Today, however, I was reminded that there are a lot of people who aren't so lucky.  As a member of Model UN, I was excited that an organization that I am happily a part of hosted Falling Whistles, an NGO about the conflict in the Congo.  And while their presentation was not as clear and informed as I would have liked, the event jump-started a conversation within our organization, and one I hope might spread to the rest of our campus, about a conflict that is responsible for the deaths of over 5 million people.

I speak from a position of privilege.  The coltan used in the capacitors of my laptop and phone is likely conflict-mined, though not necessarily from the Congo (though conflict-mining and smuggling of coltan, tin, tungsten, and copper in the Congo has contributed heavily to the body count in the ongoing conflict).  I speak as someone who has never truly feared for her life or grown up in a conflict zone.  But I speak as someone who does have a legitimate interest in the situation in the Congo.

Today, also, marks a historic day in the DRC, as it was their third election. Ever. In their history.  As of this evening, violence has been reported at and around polling locations, and at least two deaths have been reported.  But the day is still historic.  And while I would like to say the world is watching, I fear that they probably aren't.  Most people I know are watching Monday Night Football instead.  But it truly is historic.  Free and fair elections are signs of progress, potential, and hope for peace.

While we've been arguing about just how much the top 1% should be taxed, whether we should be funding Defense Department projects from the Soviet era, or whether government health care is socialism, children have been drawn into war, women have been raped, and thousands have died.  And people wonder why I think sometimes we need a little more perspective.

Consciously yours,
Rachel Leigh

Also, if you're interested in finding out more:
Falling Whistles: http://www.fallingwhistles.com
Friends of the Congo (another major non-profit focusing on the Congo): http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/
Enough Project (an NGO focusing on Sudan and the Congo, with particular reports on conflict mining): http://www.enoughproject.org/