“Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come, whose time is now.”
In a society where our vision is flooded with thousands of images, videos, and news on a daily basis, we are inundated with varied and conflicting ideas and politics, and it is difficult for one particular thing to catch our attention.
However, last month, one video went viral, spreading throughout various social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr via statuses, wall posts, and shared links. One video, 30 minutes, demands people’s attention and calls people to action. It sheds light on the Invisible Children Organization and its movement to enact social change in Uganda, informing people of the acts of terror and political conflicts occurring in the country and seeking to make Joseph Kony infamous.
Who is Joseph Kony?
He is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, which is a militant rebel group. Though Kony’s initial uprisings were popular, he started to lose regional support due to his brutal methods of army recruitment, such as abducting children and forcing them to become soldiers and sex slaves. Many of the Ugandan citizens are thus displaced from their homes, entering government-run camps. These acts of atrocity have gained international attention, placing Kony in the United Nation’s list of wanted criminals since 2005.
What is being done about this?
Invisible Children formed in 2005 as an organization geared towards helping the Ugandan citizens from the country’s political turmoil. Its programs are aimed towards civilian protection and rehabilitation.
There has been an overwhelming response among TCNJ students after viewing the video; therefore, TCNJ students Anna Poruks, Johnanthony Alaimo, Morgan Teller, Jerry Milionis, Tina Calderin, Mia Kunitomo, and Akash Patel, some of whom have been involved in the campaign for years, took the initiative to create a KONY 2012 TCNJ Facebook group in order to disseminate more information and provide a means for interested students to discuss the topic or to voice any suggestions.
Though the group is still in its early stages of planning, they are aiming to team up with other campus organizations who are willing to support the cause and also to raise more awareness at TCNJ by holding weekly discussion meetings, design T-shirts and posters, and contact surrounding high schools and universities in order to make the movement stronger. “We want to start by setting small goals and then working our way up from there, since this issue is incredibly complex and impossible to solve all at once,” said Poruks.
There have been many critics of the organization, claiming that the funds it collects from its merchandise goes mainly to publicity and not on programs that directly help Ugandans. “With every great idea, there are always going to be endless critics,” said Poruks, “But the purpose of the film is to inform the world about an issue that they were previously unaware of, and from there, people should take the initiative to educate themselves about it and governments all around the world will notice their people’s concerns and take appropriate action.” These allegations are further addressed on the Invisible Children page.
“Kony 2012 raises awareness, awareness leads to action, and action leads to change,” Poruks said. “I can only hope that this is just the beginning of a great era of change, sparked by the people of this planet and acting with the confidence that they can make a difference in the world.”
To contact the KONY 2012 TCNJ group, please email: kony2012tcnj@gmail.com