Kony 2012



Kony 2012 campaign poster

Kony 2012 is a viral video that soared to worldwide recognition in a matter of days, aiming to spread awareness about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, leader of the rebel group L.R.A., who allegedly kidnapped over 30,000 children and forces them to become sex slaves and child soldiers, mutilating people and to kill their own parents, in the belief that he is doing the work of God. His influence spreads Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan and he has been committing these crimes for over 20 years. The charity Invisible Children Inc. are striving to raise money and support so that Joseph Kony can finally be arrested.
Now the question is, can we trust everthing we hear? My first instinct when I see campaigns for charities and such is to sympathise and want to help them without a doubt in my mind. But Kony 2012 has initiated critiques over the validity of the statements made in the video. First of all, the video has been criticised of oversimplifying the situation. Apparently it exaggerated the scale of the L.R.A. abductions and murders and that remaning forces are now only in the hundreds. Claims have also been made that Joseph Kony himself is no longer in Uganda, and that he is in fact in the Central African Republic and the L.R.A. have spread into neighbouring countries. The Ugandan prime minister Amama Mbabazi posted a response on YouTube attempting to correct the false impression that Uganda is conflicted and that Invisible Children Inc. portrays it wrongly and there is no problem in Uganda. There were also some rumours circulating that Kony has been dead for 3 years, but there are no reliable sources to back up this information. I found an article on metro.co.uk that said Jason Russell, the creator of the video, was taken into psychiatric care after he was found running half-naked through Californian streets. He was diagnosed with brief reactive psychosis, brought on by extreme exhaustion, stress and dehydration. This was due to the immediate worldwide success of the Kony 2012 video, and Jason Russell was catapulted to stardom which inevitably affected his personal life. His family are certain he will make a full recovery, but there are other question marks about criminal activities and arrests.
Taking everything into consideration, I think that if the Kony 2012 video was made with the best intentions and there were no deliberate lies to generate compassion, the cause should be recognised and people everywhere should do what they can to proactively remove Joseph Kony. The idea that we can connect with anyone, anywhere and share an idea to better the world we live in is an appealing one, and I find myself willing it to be innocent. There are many hurtful things in this world that we could prevent, but we have to start somewhere and a Ugandan warlord is as good as any. Perhaps it will encourage others to start up organisations towards further issues. As to the whereabouts of Kony, he seems to be very elusive, so maybe someone got their facts wrong. And if Uganda is actually peaceful and Kony-free, then I'm glad, but he will still be inflicting terror in another country. The health of Jason Russell doesn't really affect the reliability of his cause, and as for the arrests, well, what he chooses to do in his own time isn't any of our business. Until any concrete proof is found that the video is false, I will continue to support, help and wish Invisible Children Inc. all the best in their endeavours.