Two days ago, I came across this video on Facebook recommended to me by a friend. The 30 minute video features a warlord from Uganda who has ruled the criminal activities and has allegedly been recruiting boys to his army for years. The video's intention is to put a spotlight on this man not to glorify him but to raise awareness on the atrocities he has committed to thousands. According to the international criminal court, he is number one on its criminal list.
The maker of the video seems to have a good grasp of democracy that if enough support is gathered, the almighty powerful U.S. government can do something about it and intervene. The video I must say is quite inspirational and very persuasive in swaying the public to rally for the cause of taking Kony to justice.
But when you look at what the maker of the video is proposing, he wants the masses to rally and ask the U.S. government to send troops to Uganda to find and stop Kony. Ironic because likely they are the same group that has been pushing for the war of Afghanistan and Iraq to stop. Another article also points out that the last time the United States went for a manhunt, it lasted for over a decade.
No doubt Joseph Kony is the man to stop, but how verifiable are the facts that are said on the video? As the other article notes, I would rather push for strengthening the International Criminal Court and involve the United Nations in the movement rather than asking the United States to intervene and be the 'savior' as it always wants it to be. Walk with caution U.S.A.
I am with you a hundred percent. Too bad the blogpost I've been inspired with (The Visible Problem with Invisible Children) has been taken down. But basically, some words I saved from it were:
ReplyDelete"Africa as a whole needs to break free from foreign aid. Almost half of Uganda’s yearly budget is made up of foreign aid. I think that many of Uganda’s problems stem from its reliance on foreign support. Self centered American kids are flying around the world to change it. The catch is they don’t know what they are doing or where they are going think about how much you really know about the political situations in Uganda and throughout Africa that contribute to long lasting problems. The aid to African nations is increasing the corruption there and encouraging these nations to continue this dependence on foreign nations and it does not encourage them to become totally self sufficient."
http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/Africa