Visible Children

An open letter to an Invisible Children counter-movement.

Hopefully this serves as an open letter to all counter-movements and everyone who feels that they are “against” Invisible Children.

Hi (names redacted),

I made a decision very early not to support any counter-movements - my goal is to encourage discourse, not put down the efforts of an organization which has, despite its faults, served thousands of victims well. I find your programming especially problematic: if postering is a poor method of fostering political discourse, defacing posters is several steps down the credibility ladder.

I am highly dubious of your motivation in advising me that a member of a PR firm is Christian - is that intended to make me doubt his character? This bigoted view is revealing. Fight propaganda with the fair pursuit of balanced truths, not with propaganda of your own.

Your petition calls for US legislation which would, as I read it, eliminate anonymous internet use. Quoting a law which you admit does not apply to to the internet, you appear to complain that it was not made clear what organization paid for the KONY 2012 film. You then go on to call for military withdrawal from Central Africa without proposing any alternative solution. My unsolicited feedback for you would be to focus your organization on one cause or the other, although I find neither cause to be particularly valid in their current state. In your petition you also refer to the fact that some Christian groups have supported Invisible Children, implying negativity without justifying this bigotry.

As a final note, if you had taken the time to read my writing carefully, you would note that the photo you are referring to is not mine but belongs to a talented professional photojournalist named Glenna Gordon, whom you ought be crediting - and that the photo is not at all of “the Invisible Children founders posing with the Ugandan military” as you claim, but with members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). If this is indicative of the general level of research you have conducted, this alone is reason for me not to endorse your ill-conceived campaign.

Please refrain from linking to my blog or any further action which may be seen to imply my endorsement. I have posted this response to your email on my blog, and would appreciate your permission to publish your side of the correspondence as well, along with a link to your website - but I will not do so without your permission, which I understand you may be reluctant to give. I urge you, however, to consider it. We must allow people to make their own decisions, and as you well know, there are two sides to every story.

Regards,

Grant Oyston
Visible Children - KONY 2012, viewed critically.

Massive riot erupts in Northern Uganda against Invisible Children.

From a recent article in the Daily Monitor, a Ugandan newspaper:

“At least 10,000 people gathered at [Pece War Memorial Stadium in Gulu, Uganda] to watch the Kony 2012 video. Dissatisfied with the content, the crowd pelted the organisers with stones, injuring a police officer identified as Pamela Inenu and two musicians hired to sing at the event. Police fired teargas at the crowd, and live bullets in the air, injuring dozens, who also lost valuables including phones and money.”

Archbishop of Gulu Arch Diocese and member of Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, Rt. Rev John Baptist Odama, said: “Invisible Children has done a commendable job during the conflict, they started when we slept in town streets with children and paying school fees for stranded children. However the Kony 2012 video has tricked them into war mongering instead of helping them. It’s the right time they should rethink their position.”

Thanks to Holly Elissa of Caleb’s Hope (an NGO operating in Northern Uganda) for sending me a scan of the article, which I couldn’t find online anywhere. I’ve typed it up for anyone who’d like to read it here.

Ugandans riot over KONY 2012 screening, again.

According to an Acholi Ugandan source who works as a Program Director for an NGO in Gulu:

“Invisible Children continue to have more trouble with the video and over the weekend in Gulu, as they attempted to screen the video for the public, it turned in to chaos and everyone started fighting for his life with multiple gun shots and some rioting with tear gas and ended prematurely! The streets were flooded with soldiers after that. They have lost credibility even locally.”

I apologize that I am not able to name my source for this due to security concerns.

(Source: visiblechildren)

Controversy: Did Invisible Children provide intelligence for Ugandan military?

According to diplomatic notes leaked last year by whistle-blower site Wikileaks, Invisible Children tipped off the Ugandan government about the location of Patrick Komakech, now under arrest for treason. Komakech had been involved in a rebel group (the PPF) seeking to overthrow the current President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni.

The June, 2009 cable, from the US Ambassador to Uganda (Steven Browning) to the Secretary of State, claims that Komakech (who had previously been featured in Invisible Children films) had been arrested by the Ugandan government for treason and extortion, thanks to a tip from Invisible Children regarding his location. The cable reads, in part:

“The latest plot was exposed when the Government received a tip from the U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO) Invisible Children regarding the location of Patrick Komekech.* […] Invisible Children reported that Komekech had been in Nairobi and had recently reappeared in Gulu, where he was staying with the NGO. Security organizations jumped on the tip and immediately arrested Komekech on March 5 [of 2009].”

Invisible Children has denied their involvement, with Uganda spokesperson Florence Ogola saying, “We are not involved in anything to do with security. We only deal with development.” A further spokeperson told Foreign Policy: “[W]e do not conduct intelligence efforts of any kind for a foreign government.”

This story hasn’t really been picked up by mainstream media yet, so I’m going to break with my rule of not asking for reblogs and ask you to please reblog this if you think it’s worthy of media attention.

*Spelling of Mr. Komakech’s name is currently unclear – Foreign Policy and the Daily Monitor both spell it as “Komakech”, while the original cables from Mr. Browning spell it “Komekech”

(Source: visiblechildren)

Make Kony famous? No thanks, says Uganda.

From an article published by AYINET, a grassroots organization that works with young LRA victims, and which organized a screening of KONY 2012 in Lira, N. Uganda, attended by thousands:

“The film’s overall messages were very upsetting to many audience members.

“In particular, viewers were outraged by the KONY 2012 campaign’s strategy to make Kony famous and their marketing of items with his image. One victim was applauded upon saying, ‘If you care for us the victims, you will respect our feelings and acknowledge how hurting it is for us to see you mobilizing the world to make Kony famous, the guy who is the world most wanted criminal.’ It was very hurtful for victims and their families to see posters, bracelets and t-shirts, all looking like a slick marketing campaign, promoting the person most responsible for their shattered lives. One young man who lost four brothers and one of his arms said afterwards: ‘How can anybody expect a person to wear a T-shirt with Kony’s name on it?’ Many people were asking: ‘Why give such criminals celebrity status? Why not make the plight of the victims and the war-ravaged communities, people whose sufferings are real and visible, the focus of a campaign to help?’

“There was a strong sense from the audience that the video was insensitive to African and Ugandan audiences, and that it did not accurately portray the conflict or the victims.”

For those of you currently sporting Joseph Kony bracelets and t-shirts, perhaps this is a good time to consider the message you’re communicating, and how that message is perceived by those whom it is intended to be aiding.

EDIT: For those who aren’t “getting it”, try this fun experiment: make a bracelet that says “HITLER” on it and see how long it takes until someone punches you.