Linsanity and the GOP race better clear headlines to make way for a new trend that has earned its place in the hearts of several personalities, including Kim Kardashian’s, Taylor Swift’s, and Bill Gates’. Kony 2012, a campaign held by the non-profit organization, Invisible Children Inc., has recently found success in bringing the world together to fight for a common purpose.
Joseph Kony is the leader of a Ugandan guerilla group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA has been deemed responsible for the rape, murder, and kidnapping of many African civilians. The LRA has also been credited with turning kidnapped boys into child soldiers, and kidnapped girls into sex slaves.
In May 2010, President Barack Obama dispatched 100 armed military advisers to Africa to assist affected nations in defeating Kony’s forces. However, it wasn’t until March 5, 2012 when Jason Russell, one of the founders of Invisible Children, uploaded a video on YouTube that went viral. Russell promoted the movement to stop Kony by raising awareness of him and by obtaining the support of prominent pop-culture icons and policymakers.
Endorsers of Kony 2012 have sparked this international movement with the goal of capturing Kony and his forces by the end of 2012. The International Criminal Court is pressing for Kony’s capture. He is also wanted for his terrorist attacks in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo.
In 2006, Kony was interviewed during a period when he had been making negotiations with officials from South Sudan. When questioned about his violent and brutal ways of murder, Kony replied with the statement, “Let me tell you clearly what happened in Uganda. Museveni went into the villages and cut off the ears of the people, telling the people that it was the work of the LRA. I cannot cut the ear of my brother; I cannot kill the eye of my brother.”
However, James Shin, a freshman at Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS), remains unconvinced by Kony’s words. Shin stated, “Joseph Kony’s actions remain irrepressible in Africa. He terrorizes the lives of children and kills thousands. All that I see in Kony is the inability to get his story straight.”
Ryan Seo, a senior at SRHS, agreed with Shin. Seo stated, ” It looks like we have another pseudonym for Kony. In addition to murderer and charlatan, he is now officially an author– of lies. Kony has already cut off the ears of several young children, and it shocks me to hear that he has the nerve to get up in front of the world and tell a blatant lie. It’s outrageous. Several of my friends and I support Kony 2012 and we’re glad it’s happening.”
Shin and Seo are just one out of many who have taken the pledge to bring Kony to justice in 2012. ” Maybe Kony will admit that he has done wrong after we capture him. Sometimes it takes lots of pressure to get someone to realize what they’ve done. I guess this is just another one of those moments,” stated Seo in an ending remark.
