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The University of West Georgia’s STAND, also know as the Student Anti- Genocide Coalition, held a screening of the documentary “Invisible Children,” in the UCC Ballroom on Monday, Oct. 5. This documentary, created by three young filmmakers from California, Laren Poole, Jason Russell, and Bobby Bailey, informed the UWG audience of unpublicized atrocities that shocked everyone in the room, and left many wondering how could this be happening in the world and nobody knows about it.
“Invisible Children” highlights the tragic story of many Ugandan children, who have been abducted from their families at very young ages and forced to torture and kill others to survive. A virtually unknown war, lead by the Lord’s Resistance Army against the Ugandan government has been raging on in Northern Uganda for decades. The leader of the LRA and self proclaimed host to the Holy Spirit, Joseph Kony, is responsible for millions of deaths, civil unrest, and the displacement of Ugandan citizens into refugee camps.
In Kony’s army, it is either kill or be killed. The young women who are abducted are often times used as sex slaves and the young boys are turned into child soldiers.
The film shows witnesses’ testimonies from many that have been affected by the ongoing war such as former child soldiers and locals who want to see a return of peace to this conflicted region of the world.
The film featured graphic photographs of torture victims that displayed the capabilities of Kony and his child soldiers. The photos included young people with their noses and lips cut off and people with amputated limbs.
“I feel so bad and horrified to see that a person could do such a thing. How could your spirit not tell you that this is wrong?” said UWG junior Rosa Madriz.
The film displays a clear contrast between the filmmakers and the locals. In one scene, all three filmmakers seemed somewhat hopeful that peace talks between the Ugandan Army and the LRA would lead to an end to all the violence and bloodshed; however, the locals, who have been witnessing horrors unknown to many Americans for decades, were unsure that this meeting would be successful. After days of waiting in the jungle for Kony, word spread through the camp that he was not coming and that peace talks were off.
The failed peace talks were extremely disappointing to the makers of this documentary and they continue to keep fighting for peace in Uganda by informing college students around the country of what is happening and encouraging them to take a stand.
“It’s young people like us that will help to end this war,” said Travis Hammill, a member of the Invisible Children staff.
“They never made this public! What happened to the Ugandan Government? What happened to their president? To have ten year old kids with guns in their hands is very sad,” said UWG sophomore AKS.
A non-profit organization of the same name, Invisible Children continues to pursue this fight head on. Their “Schools for Schools” program gives students throughout the world the opportunity to fund the construction of new schools in Uganda. They have also helped in creating a bill, which they hope will lead to stability in that region with the help of President Obama.
Today, Kony and the Ugandan government have failed to make peace. Kony and his child soldiers have gone on to terrorize the countries surrounding Uganda including the Congo.
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