I updated my blog and made it all spiffy! Ok, so first off cleansing diet= Unltimate FAIL! But Im ok with that..
2nd. If you do read this please comment. I would personally really love it!
3rd. Last year as a gift to my friends little brother I made a documentary and maybe this is a little bias but I think its pretty darn great! It was called "The bare facts" a reference you would understand if you went to my high school but basically it was tips on how to survive high school! You can check (most) all the videos on youtube (Some arnt up yet). Anyway now I really want to make one on Freshman year of college because honestly I have already learned so much! All I need is a cam! Who would of guessed that videos are one of my hobbies!
This is an essay I wrote for my English 111 class last semester....Feed back?
“Never again, ever again”
15 years ago In Rwanda -during the 1990’s- about one million people were killed and the world ignored it. It was later declared “genocide”. Bill Clinton, our president at the time, cites ignoring this genocide as the biggest mistake of his career saying that he probably could have saved over half a million lives. Currently in the Congo and in Uganda genocide, like the one in Rwanda has surfaced. Joseph Koney and the LRA have displaced over 1.4 million people in Congo just within the last year. The most disturbing part of all this is the fact that there is no media attention on the issue. The only light cast on this issue has been by self proclaimed filmmakers turned 301c non –profit- Invisible Children founders –Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole. (Invisiblechildren.com)
Invisible children was founded in 2003 after the three college students Russell, Bailey and Poole traveled to Africa in an attempt to film the war in Darfur. What they found instead was a hidden holocaust in neighboring Uganda where the children were being used as weapons. After returning to America the three boys knew they had to make a film out of there footage and show it to anyone willing to listen. They titled the film Invisible Children and traveled around showing it at schools and churches. Reviews of the documentary say “it disgusted and inspired”. The movement quickly grew amongst my generation. They have since held three major events in cities around the globe to bring attention to the issue. (Invisible Children) I have attended all three Invisible Children events, have helped to raise money and I have supported them countless times. I first saw the documentary when they visited my high school. The day I saw the documentary my life changed forever and soon there after I won a film contest with another philanthropic group and traveled to Ethiopia, Africa.
In 2009 Invisible Children worked on getting a bill that would mandate President Obama to apprehend top LRA leaders, demobilize child soldiers, and protect civilians from further rebel attacks passed in the house and the senate. The bill would also work on investing in sustainable peace to heal the war affected areas and help prevent future conflicts. The bill has not yet been passed, and about half of the senators have signed on and half have not. Without United States intervention I see no end in sight for Africa’s longest running war and this is why I believe it is important for the “LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act (S.1067, H.R. 2478)” to be passed. (resoloveuganda.org)
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 at war with each other as it has left nearly two million civilians in the middle. The GoU's attempt to protect its citizens from the LRA has largely failed, resulting in an entire generation of youth that has never known peace. (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/uganda.htm)
The LRA 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 hatred 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 made Lakwena’s rebel army into the modern day LRA. Kony and the LRA did not receive the same support as the Holy Spirit Movement. With dwindling approval for their cause, 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. Ironically, the LRA claims they are helping the Acholi people fight for their rights yet; they are not helping the Acholi they are killing and abducting them at astonishing rates. (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/uganda.htm)
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 displacement camps in hopes of providing protection. But over a decade later, roughly one million individuals still live in these camps and struggle to survive among the effects of poverty, disease, and near-certain starvation. It is obvious that the GoU doesn’t understand and doesn’t have the resources to fix the situation in Uganda. They need our help. (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/uganda.htm)
In 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders. Since then the Government of Uganda and the LRA have met several times, though they have yet to find a peaceful resolution. The most recent talks were in Juba, Sudan in July 2006, and a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was signed the following month. At this point in time, the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement has expired and Joseph Kony has failed to sign the Final Peace Agreement for a fourth time, ultimately disabling the peace talks. Uncertainty lingers, not only for the thousands displaced in northern Uganda but across the entire northeastern border region of Congo, South Sudan, and Central African Republic where the war has since spread to. It is obvious that the LRA has no intentions of coming to an agreement with the GoU. The only way to ratify the situation in Uganda is with US intervention. (invisiblechildren.com)
There are many people out there who do not think this bill should be passed. They say that America does not need to be the world police and put ourselves in potential danger just to help someone else. Others who agree with them say that Uganda has nothing to offer us in terms of oil, security, or money so there is no reason for the US to intervene, unless it directly affects us. I however, believe this a human dignity and a moral issue. As Rep. Ed Royce -former Chair of the US House Committee on Africa- says,
"This bill rightly targets LRA leader Joseph Kony. Kony's removal is essential to peace in the region. It is fashionable to blame conflict in Africa on poverty and other environmental factors, but sometimes just getting rid of one person does make a big difference. History is full of captivating leaders with bad ideas who do great damage. It’s a lesson I learned from West Africa, where Liberian president Charles Taylor, ran a gangster regime that brought havoc to neighboring Sierra Leone. After his hard-fought removal, the region is peaceful. Kony’s removal won’t guarantee peace — but it will make it possible." (19 May 2009)
Royce points out that many people are blaming the causes of this war on poverty and other such health issues. Although these do have major effects on this war and the people involved, in reality the war is only continuing because of Joseph Kony. Royce also points out that removing Joseph Kony won’t necessarily, “guarantee peace,” which is why the bill also says we would need to help restore the war affected areas and work on bringing sustainable peace to the region.
This issue not only affects the citizens of Uganda, Congo, and Sudan it affects everyone. If we allow this war to continue we are directly responsible for the lives of those who are dying at the hands of this war each day. If we don’t stand up now we are doomed to let history repeat itself and next time you might be the one caught in the middle of genocide. After World War two the world came together and proclaimed that “never again” would they allow genocide to occur. When will the world finally come together, take a stand, and proclaim “never again, ever again”?
Citations
• Invisiblchildren.com
• Resolveuganda.org
• Globalsecurity.org/
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