(Just as a reminder, if you’re going to read this post then you should make sure that you read it all the way to the end. Also, I encourage you to do your own research before you do anything further regarding this issues. Okay, continue with the article.)
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about this viral short 30 minute film asking it’s viewers to sign a petition and share the video. According to the film and campaign by Invisible Children, Kony 2012, aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. But I’ve also been hearing a lot about how sharing this video wouldn’t do anything to help the child soldiers in Africa, and that the majority of the proceeds don’t even go to the cause that Invisible Children is trying to help. In fact, only a little over 30% may be reaching the children.
What I have noticed, however, is the rise in awareness from the entire population concerning the issues of child soldiers. A few years ago when I heard about these horrendous acts of violence enacted on children, I looked around at the general population and I a noticed that no one really knew that this was even going on. And though I may be disappointed with one particular group, with how they managed the money that they raised, I can’t help but still see the good in the amount of awareness on the matter that came out of this Kony 2012 campaign.
The intentions of Kony 2012 is about making one terrible bastard known to the entire population of the American people. The point was to get the U.S. government to intervene and stop individuals like Joseph Kony from kidnapping African children and forcing them to be child soldiers, and the film did inform the general public about something terrible that was taking place in the world.
This film highlights a problem that is still going on in Africa. This hasn’t stopped, and telling people that this is going on regardless of who’s in charge doesn’t hurt anyone, but deferring people from learning about the horrific events just because one organization may be a bad seed does hurt people, which is why I hate that some of the facts on the matter may be misleading.
Answer me this, did you know about Joseph Kony specifically and that he’s still out there, or of child soldiers being forced to fight in Africa before this film? If you did, do you think the amount of people who know now all knew about this before the film? The film sets out to raise awareness, and it definitely did.
This still is a problem. Kony does exist. The facts may be complicated, but the child soldier is still an issue on the table, and what you do with this new awareness is what you have to decide ultimately. There are a lot of different points of view about this situation that you should look at before doing anything, so click on the links that I have put into this article and do further research on your own as well:
Here’s Invisible Children’s side of the controversy via Yahoo.com
Visit visiblechildren.tumblr.com for another take on the situation
And remember, no one from this blog is asking for you to donate money, but if you feel the need to donate, and you’re not so sure about the motives of Invisible Children, then you can do so with other non-profit organizations focusing on the same cause. Just search for a charity you can trust on Charity Navigator.
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