"Kony 2012: Causing More Harm then good." Open letter to Jason Russell

This was a letter to Jason Russell written by the blogger, Amber Ha, who has actually visited Uganda and talked to the locals about Invisible Children
Very interesting read

Joseph Kony formed the LRA in retaliation to the brutality of President Museveni (from the south) committing mass atrocities on the Acholi people (from the north) when President Museveni came to power in 1986. This follows a long history of Ugandan politics that can be traced back to pre-colonial times. The conflict must be contextualized within this history. (If you want to have this proper knowledge, I suggest you start by working with scholars, not celebrities). President Museveni is still in power and in his reign of 26 years he has arguably killed as many, if not more Acholi people, than Joseph Kony. Why is President Museveni not demonized, let alone mentioned? I would like to give you more credit than just ignorance. I have three guesses. One is that Invisible Children has close ties with the Ugandan government and military, which it has been accused of many times. Second, is that you are willing to fight Kony, but not the U.S. Government, which openly supports President Museveni. Third, is that Invisible Children feels the need to reduce the conflict to better commercialize it.

Last year I went to Gulu, Uganda, where Invisible Children is based, and interviewed over 50 locals. Every single person questioned Invisible Children’s legitimacy and intention. Every single person. If anything, it seemed the people saw Invisible Children as a bigger threat than Joseph Kony at the time. Why is it the very people you are trying to “help” feel more offense than relief with your aid?

“They come here to make money and use us.”

“It makes us feel terrible to be presented as being so stupid and helpless.”

These are direct quotes. This was the sentiment of the majority of the people that I interviewed in varying degrees. I definitely didn’t see or hear these voices or opinions in your video. If you are to be “saving” the Acholi people, the very least you can be doing is holding yourself accountable to them and actually listening to what they have to say.

pomee.tumblr.com...

reply to post by seenavv


Im sure they dont dare to say anything else..
LRA will come and take there children, boys will become soldiers and girls will be sex slaves.

There are more then 90.000 child soldiers in Congo right now..

Kony needs to be put down.. he is evil incarnated, im sure they don't mind if anyone would come and get their children back and kill that mofo

reply to post by Vandalour


Mexican cartels do the same thing why arent we fighting them aswell?

Originally posted by Vandalour
reply to post by seenavv

 

Im sure they dont dare to say anything else..
LRA will come and take there children, boys will become soldiers and girls will be sex slaves.

There are more then 90.000 child soldiers in Congo right now..

Kony needs to be put down.. he is evil incarnated, im sure they don't mind if anyone would come and get their children back and kill that mofo

This topic is aimed at the spurring Kony 2012 movement, which attempted through suggestion to state that Ugandans were directly suffering as a result of the LRA which is entirely false.

Lord Resistance Army Strength: 500-3,000

Source: www.irinnews.org...

Human Rights Watch was just one of many groups with experience in Uganda that came out this week to note that Kony hasn't been operating in Uganda for years and that his army has withered to just several hundred members. These are two key points that the documentary left out, they say.

Source:www.ctv.ca...

“Have they thought of the consequences? Making Kony ‘famous’ could make him stronger. Arguing for more US troops could make him scared, and make him abduct more children, or go on the offensive.”

www.telegraph.co.uk...

Just because theres 90,000 child soldiers doesn't mean you call your leaders (who may be criminals THEMSELVES) to send soldiers over there to support a militia that is responsible for equally violent crimes and will end up directly killing those children. The situation is far more complicated then the movement tries to make it sound

Originally posted by vaelamin
reply to post by Vandalour

 

Mexican cartels do the same thing why arent we fighting them aswell?

Exactly,
There are criminals all over the world, citizens should start by holding their leaders accountable for their crimes, ,
THEN resort to helping others in need

And ending the war on drugs is one step towards making the cartels disappear

Kony has been on the run since 2006, his operation has (as far as I can tell) ended and the number of his "supporters" is very low.
He has been followed closely by the west for many years now, many operations were done to try and capture this man.
It's not a new thing.

Actually I wouldn't be admired if in a few months the president just came out and said they captured him, regaining lot's of supporters this way.

He has done terrible things, but so has the president of Uganda, and IC is in my opinion a bit of a Scam.

This lady here gives a response to KONY2012, and it is a good one.

(In case that didn't work- www.youtube.com...)

reply to post by Vandalour


Don't be so ignorant. This isn't about saving children. You've said it yourself, there are children soldiers in the congo. Where Kony is thought to be. So why go into Uganda? This is about exploiting the Ugandan peoples resources and justifying occupation of not just Uganda, but the DRC and Sudan as well.

This will inevitably lead to the death and destruction of more people and their property than Kony can ever dream of.

This is because people are tricked by emotional propaganda and people want to feel smart or important. Just hop on the bandwagon.

Sending the most ruthless Warlord's to take out one little warlord is almost laughable. The Ugandan people do not want a foreign occupation of their country. Stop being so damn naive.

Vietnam, Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria all lies.

How and the hell can people honestly even for a moment believe that this movement as popular as it is, is going to serve any good?

This BS of jumping the gun has to stop. Because in 2 years when Sudan, DRC, and Uganda are in complete civil war or civil unrest, you ignorant yuppies are going to say "well how could we know how it would turn out, obviously it was a mistake, but we had the best intentions".

The road to hell was paved with good intentions by ignorant people.

Please people read between the lines, we are talking about people lively hood here.

reply to post by seenavv


Even if he hasn't been seen in Uganda for several years, it doesn't mean that 1) he still is a terrorist of the worst kind and
2) Needs to pay for his war crimes


While the mafia in the US no longer acts like it did in the 1920s with blatant and visible activies, they are still alive and well and doing business.
They just got more slick about it

reply to post by vaelamin


Its called the southern border, which is why ICE was moved in and until recently, security was beefed up.

reply to post by seenavv


These people have been terrorized in the worse possible way for nearly three decades, caught in a brutal war.

You think they are going to trust anybody?

reply to post by godfather420


Which is why they are training the Uganda army so if he does come back, they are capable of finding and handling him.
The best way to find him is to limit his options.

I love that someone took it upon themselves to help children caught in a nasty situation. The US sends tactical specialists to help their army where:
no one is taking over
where no one is hurting anybody

But we are still the bad guys.


Uganda and the Congo ARE the places where we should be.

reply to post by seenavv


And when you are in a situation where the people are so helpless that they have no way to fight? Then you need otuside help.

Yes there are human violations all over the world.

And everyone going: not my problem, won't ever solve it.

Talk about a seperatist attitude.

reply to post by Vandalour

There are more then 90.000 child soldiers in Congo right now..

Do you have a source for this statistic?

Here's a quote from an article I was reading.

Source

Additionally, the LRA (thankfully!) does not have 30,000 mindless child soldiers. This grim figure, cited by Invisible Children in the film (and by others) refers to the total number of kids abducted by the LRA over nearly 30 years. Eerily, it is also the same number estimated for the total killed in the more than 20 years of conflict in Northern Uganda.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
reply to post by seenavv

 

And when you are in a situation where the people are so helpless that they have no way to fight? Then you need otuside help.

Yes there are human violations all over the world.

And everyone going: not my problem, won't ever solve it.

Talk about a seperatist attitude.

its not seperatist, its the only proper way to do it

If a depressed person is labelled "selfish" because they don't help others, is that right? They need to come to terms with their own issues if they are to truly begin to assist others in need

If you've ever been in a jetliner, they tell you in case of dropping cabin pressure, you cover your own face with the oxygen mask before you assist your child. Why? Because if you pass out and your child doesn't know how to use the mask, then your both screwed

The same is with the United States.
If the US can't hold it's own criminals accountable for their actions, they aren't suit enough to help others with international issues
Now this doesn't mean you cant do ANYTHING AT ALL...you can donate money, raise awareness, volunteer your time, etc.
but for the Kony movement to somehow suggest we should message George Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Mitt Romney, or Barack Obama to send troops to Uganda for "help" is very hypocritical if you know who any of those people actually are and what they are responsible for

Originally posted by nixie_nox
reply to post by godfather420

 

Which is why they are training the Uganda army so if he does come back, they are capable of finding and handling him.
The best way to find him is to limit his options.

I love that someone took it upon themselves to help children caught in a nasty situation. The US sends tactical specialists to help their army where:
no one is taking over
where no one is hurting anybody

But we are still the bad guys.

Uganda and the Congo ARE the places where we should be.

www.news.com.au...

www.guardian.co.uk...

projectdiaspora.org...

YES!! You are the bad guys. Get that through your damn head. No one wants American troops helping them in Uganda. You can get that straight from the horses mouth. This is about conquest, exploitation, and pushing out the chinese investments.

You are guilty of being an ignorant fool so save you're condescending emoticons for someone else.

You wanna save children? Then try and spread the word and keep your military out of other peoples country. Because oh you guys have such a nice track record of saving the little ones. The Ugandans can hold their own Johnson. You wanna really help? Get to the DRC and find Kony. Otherwise send me money for the tickets and I will go to the DRC and track him down with the help of the adults who are sick of being exploited.

Ignorance is bliss though right?

edit

Your country has been hijacked by foreign bankers. The congress is now ceremonial and you live in a warzone. Is that really something to be patriotic about?

Its about whats right and weighing the consequences. Not rushing to judgement like millions have done so many times before (including myself), indirectly resulting in the deaths of millions.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

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