Invisible Children - need everyone's help !

[cobalte]

One of my reasons for not supporting IC is that they support government intervention through local army forces in order to stop the LRA. However these local armies such as the Ugandan and Sudanese forces have been accused of rape, torture and looting civilians.
Also through foreign intervention such as the US... I don't particularly think it's such a great idea.

[Noasar]

I think the organisation is doing a job that for 20+ years has needed to be done, but nobody has been able or willing to do. At least they are doing something. There's no way I can ever understand the full picture, I am just one woman sat behind her laptop thousands of miles away living on a little island!

This next part isn't meant to sound sarcastic, it's a honest question.

What other methods could be put into practice to stop Joseph Kony?

Bearing in mind, if you've watched the video you will already know what the IC have done so far to try secure his arrest and also what they have done in Uganda (like many other charitable organisations) to help children who have been displaced/raped/mutilated by Kony's army.

[tootie_tails]

Joseph Kony *has* been stopped. He has been away hiding for years now.
This organization is beating a dead horse.

Also, horrible things are going on in every single country in africa. What methods are there to stop it?

Why is Uganda so interesting all of a sudden? *coughcoughrecentlyfoundoilcough*

[Noasar]

I think the organisation is trying to rally support to ensure that the pressure stays on Kony. He might have dropped off the radar now, but if the US withdraw the 100 'advisory troops' they have there and decide that Kony is no longer of national interest, who's to say we won't see a resurgence in his activities?

As far as we in the West know, he still has up to 3,000 'recruits' in his army, many of which are children. As I understand, he has only been 'in hiding' since 2011, when the US first started to put pressure on him and the LRA. Although he hasn't been in Uganda since 2006, he is still actively kidnapping children for his army and has attacked communities in the DRC, Sudan and now in Central Africa. He's still doing what he has always done...he's just a bit more 'low key' now.

Maybe I should have rephrased my question slightly.

"What other methods could be put into practice to arrest Joseph Kony?"

I'm not just blindly defending this group. I'm merely trying keep an open mind, look at all the facts and not be so cynical. How can it be a bad thing to stop this guy? Just because he's 'not as bad as he used to be' (thanks to IC and UN, among many others) doesn't mean we should ignore him, ignore what he has done, or what he may continue to do.

[relcelestia]

HI all!
here is a link to IC's answers to all the articles that have been put on the internet with negative tones...


http://www.invisiblechildren.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/critiques.html

all part of the "homework"

[fingerpaints]

I can see both sides of the coin here, I personally think that the charity behind this cause is at least trying to do the right thing, in the way that they are trying to make us aware of what is happening. However, I can also see how this could be a stunt to bring in more $ by said charity.

I do hope they use any extra cash that has been coming in for the right reasons.

There is alot more of this sort of thing happening out there that we don't know about, this has just gone viral and it has opened our eyes to one problem that people of a particular country are facing. But, it does show the power of the internet and that one person can't make a difference, but if that one person tells ten, then they tell another ten people and so on, it can make a difference.

[cobalte]

This next part isn't meant to sound sarcastic, it's a honest question.

What other methods could be put into practice to stop Joseph Kony?

Bearing in mind, if you've watched the video you will already know what the IC have done so far to try secure his arrest and also what they have done in Uganda (like many other charitable organisations) to help children who have been displaced/raped/mutilated by Kony's army.

I think this question can't really be answered unless one knows the full story of what is happening. Which, sad to say, I don't think many people do. Even then these methods may not be useful... it's rather difficult

[Noasar]

HI all!
here is a link to IC's answers to all the articles that have been put on the internet with negative tones...


http://www.invisiblechildren.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/critiques.html

all part of the "homework"

Great response from them IMO

[Ginger]

Wow... I remember being about 10 years old and learning about this on tv and then my mom elaborated. I was horrified! Then life went on and while I didn't forget, it became just one of those "things". Looking back it's hard to believe that it's been THAT long! The video talks as if nobody has heard of it before either, is that really true or are they just trying to grab attention?

I don't really have an opinion, of course other than it's a terrible, cruel and unfortunate thing. It's great that it seems more people are learning about it though, awareness and knowledge is important. I just don't know enough about the politics, situation, history... and such to determine if it's an organization I'd want to financially help right now. They ARE doing a pretty darn good job spreading the word and talk though!

[Elisto]

ZettaMomo, thank you for taking the time to actually explain what this video is about...you're seriously the first person I've seen actually do that.

I've never heard of this person before, but this is not the only case of this serious problem, so I'm a little surprised by all the focus on just him. Forcing children into an "army" like this is something that unfortunately happens in a lot of places and is a major focus of a lot of human rights groups. Usually it's not a specific individual who's responsible for it, but I guess I'm surprised so many people seemed to not know about this kind of thing. I suppose seeing how much attention this bringing to the subject, it's a good thing this video is being spread so much. Even if people are skeptical about this organization, hopefully they'll look into what other groups are doing more generally about the issue of child soldiers (which is more than just recruiting children, and does involve a lot of the things talked about here).

[Beldarna]

I didn't watch the video, nor did I read any articles about it. I've just seen this thing posted over and over, even in places where it doesn't belong. Why is Uganda suddenly such a hot topic? What has happened that suddenly make this the talk of the day? Child soldiers has been existing in Africa for as long as I can remember, they are to be found in Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe as well, just to name a few. It is sad, but true. Raidsing awareness is a good thing, just remember that Uganda is not unique, rather the opposite.

The only charity I donate to is Unicef, because I believe in the UN, and Doctors Without Borders, because they are politically and religiously neutral. As unemployed I can't afford to donate now, but I do whenever I get the opportunity.

[toralei]

I watched the film when it was released and I knew about the issue prior.


What I think is important is that people are becoming aware of this now. I don't think I'll donate to this particular organization (for reasons others have stated), but, I do think that Invisible Children did a great thing by making a very accessible film to raise awareness for a very grim topic.