Most of you will not read this all. I suggest you do. This is something, worth reading, worth knowing, worth helping.
Have you every heard of displacement? Do you know what is happening in Northern Uganda? Recently a group called the
Invisible Children visited my high school. This group of students have heard the call for help from the Uganda people.
Invisible Children
Motivated by the unseen war in Northern Uganda, Invisible Children was created by three young filmmakers with a singular mission:
To use the power of stories to change lives around the world.
Our Team
The core team of people at Invisible Children is a dynamic, youthful bunch, passionate about the children of Northern Uganda. Visit the Team page to learn a little more about each department and who's responsible for what in our one–of–a–kind organization.
Our Network
Bringing people and organizations together is at the root of Invisible Children's movement. From politicians to other NGO's, we have lined up a network of partners to make the best impact in Northern Uganda. Learn more about our partners and how we work together.
THE WAR IN NORTHERN UGANDA
A HISTORY OF AFRICA’S LONGEST RUNNING WAR
The war in northern Uganda has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today. For the past 23 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda (GoU) have been waging a war that has left nearly two million innocent civilians caught in the middle. The GoU's attempt to protect its citizens from this rebel militia has largely failed, leaving an entire generation of youth that has never known peace.
The LRA rebel movement can be traced back to a woman named Alice Lakwena. In the 1980s, Lakwena believed the Holy Spirit spoke to her and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unjust to the Acholi. Lakwena and her followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement, gained momentum as resentment toward the government increased. When Lakwena was exiled and no clear leader of the movement was left, Joseph Kony, who claimed to be Lakwena’s cousin, took control and transformed Lakwena’s rebel army into the LRA.
Kony’s LRA did not receive the same support as the Holy Spirit Movement because of their extreme tactics. With dwindling support for their cause and heightened government offensives, the rebels resorted to abducting children and indoctrinating them into their ranks. It is estimated that more than 90% of the LRA’s troops were abducted as children.
In 1996, as a response to the LRA attacks in the villages, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes, relocating them into overcrowded camps in hopes of providing protection. But over a decade later roughly 1 million individuals still live in these camps and struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation.
In recent years more and more international attention has been focused on this crisis. In 2001, the US Patriot Act officially declared the LRA to be a terrorist organization - a huge step in drawing attention to the conflict and the atrocities committed by the LRA. In 2004, Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the first piece of American legislation to address this disaster. And in 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders.
Pressure from the international community (especially from EU and Canada) plus a strong desire to realize peace has brought the Government of Uganda and the LRA to the negotiating table on numerous occasions, though they have yet to find a peaceful resolution. The most recent talks commenced in Juba, Sudan in July 2006, and a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was signed the following month. In July 2007, in response to an increased concern for peace in northern Uganda by the American people, the US appointed Tim Shortley, Senior Advisor for Conflict Resolution to Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer, with his immediate focus on northern Uganda; this action solidified the US’s commitment to end this conflict peacefully. That same year, the United Kingdom solidified their commitment to peace by allocating Ł70 million in aid, while Germany committed to increasing aid to Uganda by 25% by October 2010. Canada later became more than an international supporter of the peace process in February 2008 by joining the peace talks as an official observer (though the Canadian officer on the ground has since been removed from the region).
At this point in time, the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement has expired, the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) has yet to be signed and rebel leader Joseph Kony’s intentions have yet to be clarified. Without any resolution to the war, many of the displaced are hesitant to return home without any assurance that they will not be displaced once again.
In light of this ambiguity, Invisible Children is committed to seeking sustainable solutions to foster an environment that encourages peace. We are supporting and equipping a generation ravaged by war so that they can finally know peace. Our programs address the need for access to education and economic development through three innovative programs on the ground.
UGANDA TODAY
Since Invisible Children: Rough Cut was filmed in 2003, night commuting has ended for the children of northern Uganda. For the past two years, the region has been closer to peace than ever before. From June 2006 to March 2008 in Juba, Sudan, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda (GoU) engaged in a series of peace talks in order to end the conflict. These peace talks, supported by special envoys from the United States and other nations, allowed for the longest period of peace in northern Uganda’s 23-year war.
The Juba Peace Talks developed with hopeful constancy, and concluded in March of 2008 with the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) ready for the signature of Joseph Kony and President Museveni. However, in April of 2008, Kony twice failed to appear and sign the FPA and officially ended the Juba talks mediated by the Southern Sudanese government. Joseph Kony’s stated reasons for not signing the FPA were a vague understanding of the treaty’s systems regarding post-conflict justice and an apprehension toward ICC warrants for him and four other LRA leaders. Since the collapse of the peace talks, the LRA has been active in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR) and southern Sudan, drawing widespread disapproval from the international community and igniting a new urgency to end what has become a complex regional conflict.
In the last two years, an estimated 800,000 of the 1.8 million displaced have returned to their homes. But that leaves one million people currently living in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. While the majority desires to return home, the issues surrounding their return are complex. Some have been displaced for more than a decade, and their former way of life is all but gone. Access to clean water, economic opportunities, health centers, and education are a pressing concern for all, and even more so for the many who contemplate returning to resource-barren villages.
This is a preview of Sunday, a 15 year old boy who has been displace. When the group visited we watch the story of Sunday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNxnHMZ3PnkIf you have been moved. Stand up. Cry out. Its your time, to be displaced. Help the displaced of Northern Uganda, help Invisible Children. Help their cause.
Invisible Children- WebsiteInvisibleChildren- YoutubeDisplaced- Photos and Videoshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQd09coG_j0π
Show Posts
