The Great Kony Debate

About a week ago, I logged into my usual accounts, Gmail, Hotmail, and of course Facebook. I immediately noticed that my Facebook page had been littered with the same image over and over again, a clip from a certain YouTube video entitled Kony 2012. I ignored it for the first couple of days, thinking it was some sort of comedic clip of some teenager doing something ridiculous, or perhaps, an endearing animal video, but when my curiosity got the better of me three days later, for the next 29 minutes and 59 seconds that it took me to watch the clip, I was enthralled. So much so, that I put the video on pause, and summoned my boyfriend and two neighbours across the hall to come watch with me.

The 30 minute long clip had all the characteristics of a mini-documentary, but its' purpose was not only to inform,  it was emphatic call to action. The video in question was an introduction to the infamous Joseph Kony, an indicted war criminal, and so-called leader of the Lords of Resistance (LRA), a guerrilla group in Northern Uganda. Kony is believed to have abducted over 60,000 children, enslaved and repeatedly raped women, and forced his army of children to slaughter tens of thousands of innocent villagers over the last 20 years. The film has topped 72 million views on YouTube, and seems to gathering followers at an unbelievable rate. In spite of its popularity, the director of the film, and co-founder of the group Invisible Children, Jason Russell, is now facing a firestorm of criticism for a number of inconsistencies in the film.

Several journalists have stepped forward to dissect Jason's work and the charity group driving the Kony 2012 campaign. It has come to full light, that Joseph Kony is no longer in Uganda, and has been operating out of the DRC and Southern Sudan for the last six years. And there is little or no threat of Obama pulling out the Special Ops team he dispatched to the region, which is one of the incentives Kony 2012 creator is using in his film. And there is significant backlash from the Ugandan people who are crying "too little, too late". They also claim the nature of the issue has changed, and though Joseph Kony indeed must be brought to justice, the Ugandan Army has also committed similar crimes against their own people, yet they are not part of the campaign.

There are countless angles to the campaign. And if you want to sort through the truths and untruths, you need to become a detective of sorts. Kony 2012 is accomplishing an international awareness that has never before been accomplished through this particular medium. And though critics complain that the film oversimplifies the issue, it is because of this simplification that individuals are able to grasp the core issues. Wrong or right, this campaign is well-intended, with a limited particular political agenda. Whether it's six years too late, or sixty years too late, the children of Northern Ugandan bear the tragic legacy of Joseph Kony's actions, and bringing him to justice is the first step to healing the lost generations.