If you have a Facebook account, you've heard of Kony. You've seen (or at least heard about) the 30 minute video produced by "charity" Invisible Children. You've watched how Joseph Kony has terrorised Uganda for nearly 30 years, ordering mass abductions of children to become either sex-slaves or child soldiers. You may have even felt guilty enough to share the video with all of your Facebook friends to 'Make Kony Famous'. You have now changed society with the click of a button, well done to you (sarcasm intended). You have simply jumped on a bandwagon, fuelled by mindless social networkers who actually believe that by watching and sharing a $500,000 video, they have now taken part in social change and have contributed to Joseph Kony's arrest.
In addition to the video, Invisible Children have released 'Make Kony Famous' packs, which include posters and stickers which people are encouraged to plaster the streets of their hometown with. For a low price of $30 (plus $30 shipping to Australia) you too can support the Invisible children.
An example of today's social activists...
But who exactly are Invisible Children? Upon further research, I discovered that Invisible Children Inc. was founded in 2004 to make society aware of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army's (LRA) actions. The group intends to put a stop to the LRA's abuse of children in Uganda. Despite winning multiple awards, the group has come under scrutiny regarding their credibility. Although they are a charity organisation and cannot profit, the three filmmakers of KONY 2012 received a combined pay of around $223,000. The group also does not allow themselves to be audited, and it is estimated that only 31% of their money actually goes to victims of the LRA.
Back to the bandwagon phenomenon; if, like me, you have researched Joseph Kony after viewing the Invisible Children video, you would know that Kony has not actually been seen since 2006. That's right ladies and gentleman, the man you are getting all hot and bothered about has not participated in any LRA activity for nearly six years, and has been suspected dead for two. So before you go handing over your money to a charity that is six years too late, do your research. Don't be lured in by a film that cost $500,000 to make. Did it ever occur to Invisible Children Inc. to give that $500,000 directly to victims of Joseph Kony's terrorism? Apparently not. Publicity is clearly more important.
p.s. If you have been living under a rock and have no idea what video I'm referring to, here it is:
One of the best posts I have read so far. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeletePretty good post. I mostly agree, just want to add a bit to it. With the 31% its not even going to the children, but rather it is given to the army to give to the children. But having lived in Africa and seen the corruption going on there, I can tell you now that not one cent of that would reach those children. Now the fact about not having been seen is slightly incorrect. It is that the LRA hasn't been active in Uganda since 2006, but rather he has been in DRC, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Also, as the places he attacks and moves about in are so remote, if he had been seen, in many cases the reports would never reach the outside world. I find it really good though that there are others around who have not been swept up in this whole wave (I go to UQ too). There are a lot more things about the video that I could rant on about, but those are probably the main points.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, Invisible Children are not all that different to most supposed charity organisations nowadays, many of whom give even less of the money donated to the people they claim it is for.
This includes even the UN and World Vision. If you want to read more into it, read Lords of Poverty by Graham Hancock. It was written in the 80's but there hasn't been much change in how these organisations operate since then.