Kony 2012: Beyond Good Intentions
Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, has recently become well known via social networks. Through the Kony 2012 campaign, the organization Invisible Children is trying to put a spotlight on the abuses that Kony has perpetrated in Uganda for more than 25 years, especially against the children he kidnapped and forced to become soldiers or sex slaves.
It is impossible to doubt the good intentions of the campaign's creators. Moreover, Invisible Children has done a great job grabbing the attention of the Obama administration and has succeeded in having 100 US military advisors deployed to Uganda to advise the Ugandan government military on how to capture Kony.
It is also impossible to overlook all the actions this organization has taken to help Uganda and Ugandan children by building schools, community centers and placing a spotlight on and giving a voice to children who have been victims of the LRA.
However, at the risk of offending many with my criticism, we have to be cautious about the following two points. The first regards the Kony 2012 campaign, the information it released, its purpose and its possible consequences. The second regards what the U.S. government can do or how far it can go or is asked to go.
In regard to the campaign I think it is naive to believe that by detaining Joseph Kony the problem of child soldiers will go away. Joseph Kony has maintained this army of rebels by creating a strong co-dependency amongst them. Children who were once kidnapped are today an extension of Kony and do not know anything other than life in the militia.
Detaining Kony will not put a stop to the kidnapping of children. Furthermore, if Kony is the leader of the LRA, taking away the LRA's head could lead to at least two scenarios: Kony's fall could generate divisions within the LRA that would lead to the emergence of a new leader, or the group could split, producing smaller units that would continue fighting without an ideology because that is all they know; something like the so called "displacement effect" could take place.
On the other hand, we have to keep in mind that even if the majority of children soldiers in Uganda have been victims of kidnapping by the LRA, the Ugandan government has also been accused of recruiting children to fight the LRA. It would also be necessary to demand that the Ugandan government stop this practice as well.
Recently I told you about Lydia's story and a while back I told you about Tahir, a boy that was a child soldier for many years. After being kidnapped at twelve years old by the LRA, he spent most of his young life hungry, drugged and armed.
Invisible Children reiterates that they have good intentions. They do not propose a clear plan of what it will take to demobilize the children, young people and many adults who were once victims of kidnapping and are now aggressors themselves.
Many programs coordinated by the United Nations do not have a plan in place for the demobilization of adults and girls. I know of girls that have been rescued and, unlike their male counterparts, have not been admitted to reintegration programs because the programs were designed for men.
25 years of kidnapping children makes one realize that today there might be 30-year-old adults who have spent most of their lives in the LRA. Tahir, like many other kidnapped children, was forced to kill on numerous occasions, rape and burn whole villages. Children like Tahir, who escape or are rescued from the LRA, suffer from serious physical and psychological disorders and have to spend long periods of time in rehabilitation to overcome fear, anger and drug addiction.
Furthermore, many have lost everything, their families and friends have died and they have nothing left but war. When they escape and rejoin society, their adjustment is difficult due to severe trauma. Tahir told me, "My dearest wish is to be able to sleep without dreaming, without remembering the nightmare, for the dead to leave."
Next week I'll write about the consequences this campaign might have in a country like Uganda.
It is impossible to doubt the good intentions of the campaign's creators. Moreover, Invisible Children has done a great job grabbing the attention of the Obama administration and has succeeded in having 100 US military advisors deployed to Uganda to advise the Ugandan government military on how to capture Kony.
It is also impossible to overlook all the actions this organization has taken to help Uganda and Ugandan children by building schools, community centers and placing a spotlight on and giving a voice to children who have been victims of the LRA.
However, at the risk of offending many with my criticism, we have to be cautious about the following two points. The first regards the Kony 2012 campaign, the information it released, its purpose and its possible consequences. The second regards what the U.S. government can do or how far it can go or is asked to go.
In regard to the campaign I think it is naive to believe that by detaining Joseph Kony the problem of child soldiers will go away. Joseph Kony has maintained this army of rebels by creating a strong co-dependency amongst them. Children who were once kidnapped are today an extension of Kony and do not know anything other than life in the militia.
Detaining Kony will not put a stop to the kidnapping of children. Furthermore, if Kony is the leader of the LRA, taking away the LRA's head could lead to at least two scenarios: Kony's fall could generate divisions within the LRA that would lead to the emergence of a new leader, or the group could split, producing smaller units that would continue fighting without an ideology because that is all they know; something like the so called "displacement effect" could take place.
On the other hand, we have to keep in mind that even if the majority of children soldiers in Uganda have been victims of kidnapping by the LRA, the Ugandan government has also been accused of recruiting children to fight the LRA. It would also be necessary to demand that the Ugandan government stop this practice as well.
Recently I told you about Lydia's story and a while back I told you about Tahir, a boy that was a child soldier for many years. After being kidnapped at twelve years old by the LRA, he spent most of his young life hungry, drugged and armed.
Invisible Children reiterates that they have good intentions. They do not propose a clear plan of what it will take to demobilize the children, young people and many adults who were once victims of kidnapping and are now aggressors themselves.
Many programs coordinated by the United Nations do not have a plan in place for the demobilization of adults and girls. I know of girls that have been rescued and, unlike their male counterparts, have not been admitted to reintegration programs because the programs were designed for men.
25 years of kidnapping children makes one realize that today there might be 30-year-old adults who have spent most of their lives in the LRA. Tahir, like many other kidnapped children, was forced to kill on numerous occasions, rape and burn whole villages. Children like Tahir, who escape or are rescued from the LRA, suffer from serious physical and psychological disorders and have to spend long periods of time in rehabilitation to overcome fear, anger and drug addiction.
Furthermore, many have lost everything, their families and friends have died and they have nothing left but war. When they escape and rejoin society, their adjustment is difficult due to severe trauma. Tahir told me, "My dearest wish is to be able to sleep without dreaming, without remembering the nightmare, for the dead to leave."
Next week I'll write about the consequences this campaign might have in a country like Uganda.
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