UMOJA supports Invisible Children

Author: Corinne Beaugard

Though UMOJA ("Umoja" is a Kiswahili word that means "unity" and the name of this club meant to bring awareness of African issues to the campus) is not affiliated with Invisible Children, the two groups share common goals. They aim to enlighten their respective communities about the realities of African life and call for support.

On Saturday, April 25, members of the Middlebury community will participate in a sit-in style protest in Burlington. The rally, titled THE RESCUE, will take place in 100 cities across nine countries. In each city, the participants will travel by foot to a campsite where they will remain overnight. They will symbolically abduct themselves, not moving until they are "rescued." The goal of the rally is to encourage local politicians and prominent community members to make a public statement acknowledging the child soldiers of Uganda. The leaders' declarations will "rescue" the participants of the rally.

In 2003, three California college students - Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole - left their comfortable lives to embark upon a journey with the hope of uncovering a meaningful story to bring home. They filmed the documentary "Invisible Children" as an exploration of film and African culture, not knowing that after its release, they would found the nonprofit organization Invisible Children, Inc. and spark a movement.

With meager resources and video cameras in hand, they departed for Africa to begin their unexpected journey. They arrived in southern Sudan, searching for a story with the power to change the Western world's perspective on the situation in Africa. Upon arrival, they were surprised and disappointed that they were unable to find any leads. However, after discovering that many Southern Sudanese had fled to Uganda, they changed their plans and left to see if they might have better luck there.

During the beginning of their journey, Jason, Bobby, and Laren met an Acholi woman named Jolly Okot. She pointed the filmmakers in the direction of the bus verandas in Gulu, hoping that they might be the voice for the thousands of children who sleep there every night to protect themselves from abduction by the rebel forces. They followed her advice and traveled to these night camps, in verandas and the area's hospitals, to speak with the children and learn their heartbreaking stories. They uncovered the harsh reality of these children, including former child soldiers, who had been displaced from their homes and lived daily in fear of abduction. Though these children were arguably the most tragic casualties of this war, prior to the release of "Invisible Children," they were shockingly unacknowledged by the international community.

Since the 1980s, the Ugandan government and the terrorist organization Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have been at war. Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, has continued to wage his nearly 24-year war under the pretense that he wants to free the Acholi people through the formation of a theocratic government. During the formation of his resistance group in 1987, he claimed to be the cousin of a woman named Alice Lakwena, a powerful figure who was believed to channel spirits. Lakwena led the Holy Spirit Movement, a millennial rebellion against the government, which aroused a surprising amount of support. Kony tried to capitalize on her success through their supposed relation, but failed to gain the comparable support he had hoped for. After years of bloodshed and battle, Kony's resources began to dwindle. He resorted to abducting children to supplement his regular troops. Allegedly, over 90 percent of Kony's soldiers were abducted during childhood.

The children in northern Uganda live knowing that they could be captured at night by Kony's army and forced to join the ranks of child soldiers. The children who are captured, ranging in age from five to 14, are immediately desensitized. They are forced to commit and to witness murder and to live under the threat that they too could be killed for any misstep. Kony's army brainwashes these vulnerable children to become instinctive killers. Those who have managed to avoid capture still face a harsh daily struggle. Their homes are unsafe at night, so they flock to verandas and hospitals in the urban center Gulu where they lie like packed sardines, competing for limited and valuable space.

Invisible Children, Inc. aims to find support for these children in the Western world. The people involved in the movement ultimately hope to overthrow Joseph Kony and achieve the release of his child soldiers. The movie and its resulting organization have been successful in inciting some change. Night commuting has ended for the children in northern Uganda, and there have been a series of peace talks. Unfortunately, Kony refused to sign the Final Peace Agreement; a product of the Juba Peace Talks. He has continued to wreak havoc in Uganda, even broadening his reach into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and southern Sudan.

At Middlebury, the African interest group UMOJA supports Invisible Children's cause and sponsored a screening of the documentary last Thursday. Alhaji Abu Bakar Jalloh '11, the president of UMOJA, describes the organization's mission this way: "our goal is to increase the awareness of the relevant issues concerning the African continent. To educate the Middlebury College Community about African politics, traditions and cultures by using media such as symposia, lectures, discussions and performance," said Jalluh.

There is still time to sign up for the rally this weekend. If you are interested, visit InvisibleChildren.com to register and e-mail the Middlebury group at middrescue@gmail.com. Individuals also can donate to Middlebury's RESCUE fund via e-mail or donate online through the official WebSite. Invisible Children also encourages its supporters to write to their congressmen to urge them to act.

Today representatives of the group will be selling T-shirts at Ross Dining Hall, as well as taking names for the rally.