Invisible Children

One cannot watch the documentary Invisible Children without painfully holding back the tears the Ugandan children can no longer cry. The continuing travesties and destitution caused by the 20-year-long war, between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), is immeasurable and has gained the attention of the American populace only recently.

The LRA has attacked people living in Northern Uganda, kidnapped children as a means to build their army, brutally beaten and maimed people and raped young girls, among many other vicious acts.

The Ugandan government forced civilians to move into Internally Displaced Persons camps (IDP), identifying those who refused as rebels. Given the maximum time limit of seven days to collect whatever belongings they could and walk to the nearest IDP camp; people's land and homes were demolished, leaving the semblance of an adequate life in ruins.

According to the government, the IDP sites were formed to provide the Ugandans protection from the rebels. However, being corralled in these areas made it easier for the LRA to kidnap children and violently indoctrinate them into their rebellion group. Many children have been orphaned by the rebels or by HIV/AIDS making them prime targets and vulnerable to LRA violence.

In an attempt to ensure their own safety and avoid being captured, herds of children walk miles to sleep in larger cities. The film documents the suffering of these young prisoners, victims and forgotten children; many of whom are not accounted for by the Ugandan government.

These children are often forced to go without food, have no other clothes than the ones they wear and cannot afford an education. Many children featured in the documentary were strikingly proficient in the English language, had aspirations of becoming doctors, teachers and lawyers and remained hopeful.

Two brothers, who were kidnapped and escaped the LRA, were interviewed. When asked about their horrible situation, one answered that he was unable to cry, for he saw the punishment, by the LRA, for doing so.

Later, the same two boys were asked about their older brother, whose murder they witnessed.
The same boy who said he could not cry, didn't, he wept. The pain in his voice and face was overwhelming, forcing tears to stream out of me as I watched.

I saw the film twice, unable to contain the uncharacteristic surge of emotion that rushed out of me both times as I was shown the immense suffering and pain of these people.

There has been some recent progress in Uganda. Peace negotiations between the LRA and the government have begun, however are slow in achieving results. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is trying to prosecute high ranking LRA members for war crimes and crimes against humanity; but has been criticized for slowing the peace process.

Though, there have been some steps forward, it is not nearly enough to ease the suffering of Northern Ugandans who are still living in the hopeless destitution of IDP camps.

Invisible Children (IC) has sparked a nationwide movement to raise awareness about this under-reported and devastating crisis. The non-profit organization has orchestrated demonstrations, such as the Global Night Commute and Displace Me, in support and concern for the Ugandans. Both events were simulations of the plight of the Ugandans and received much support from people in the 15 American cities where they were held.

There are other organizations such as the Uganda Conflict Action Network (Uganda-CAN) who also work to raise awareness among concerned citizens as well as policymakers.

Both organizations stress the importance of citizens worldwide to beckon their governments to come to Uganda's aid. IC provides many creative ideas for people to raise awareness about the pain that is being felt by the millions displaced, starving, and ill and the children who were stripped of innocence and live in fear.

People have become apathetic to the pain of those so far away because their suffering is unimaginable and unsettling. However, apathy is completely unacceptable when there are so many who suffer while we live such comfortable lives in the Western world.

Not everyone is in a place to make financial donations, however, that does not mean that nothing can be done.

People can make t-shirts, ask teachers to show students the documentary or at least discuss the ongoing struggle of the Ugandan people. Small coffee houses can host showings of the film and promote products whose profits are donated to active charitable collections. All that is required is that you ask.

It is not enough to watch the documentary and moved. That is just the beginning; it is the process of educating oneself in preparation to contribute time and effort to make a real difference; if only by promoting the film.

The world and its citizens have shamefully sat idle and ignorant of the suffering of the Ugandan people. It is time to do what is within your means to make a difference, irrespective of how minimal it may seem.

Writer Edmund Burke once wrote that "The only thing for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."