Invisible Children recently launched its newest advocacy campaign #zeroLRA, in which global citizens are encouraged to contact their leaders to commit to bringing Joseph Kony to justice and seeing an end to kidnapping, rape and murder by his rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA.) This is a crucial time to remind our officials of the promise we made and the dedication we have to finish what we started. For full details on the campaign and immediate action steps, click the link [HERE].
We asked our staff and supporters to articulate why they are committed to #zeroLRA.
Danica Russell is the secret mastermind behind Invisible Children. She’s cast the vision for numerous programs and films that have defined our story. Here she gives her reasoning for her passion for seeing an end to this conflict.
++
There is an old Acholi proverb that goes:
Kuk co, kun co.
Meaning: this side men; the other side men. Which is about equality, or a tie.
Since I was not born an old Acholi man, I realize, I am reinforcing the fusty NGO stereotype by quoting old African wisdom, but I’m doing it because it is the heartbeat of my life. A life spent in defiance of what is and ferocious pursuit of what should be – in a sphere that may seem to have nothing to do with me.
You read: This side, men. The other side, men.
But people don’t always see the men… they see this side and the OTHER.
They see us and them.
And when something or someone is seen as foreign, or “other,” it frees the “us” to only worry about “us.” Are you still with me?
The problem is this: right now in the world- there are no longer sides, except of our own invention. We have begun to connect in our “sames” and value what is “other.” And when we read/see/hear about our fellowman’s aching or read/see/hear about a wrong somewhere in the world, it is felt everywhere in the world. And it should be. No one trying to “save” anyone else. We are just men, and women, from both sides, helping each other. The white man, and the black man, and the grey- carrying each other’s burdens. A tie.
And If we really believe that, that we are all simply men and women, worthy and deserving of equivalent lives, free from senseless violence, then we need to finish what we started. If only just to prove that we can.
The world we live in has new rules. Older no longer means wiser because we know more, see more and care more than past generations did – when they were us. Past generations fear involvement in a problem they can’t see as our own, but we are more afraid of what will happen if we don’t. A new generation of activists is at war with unconventional arms, and our involvement is as unique as each individual and many won’t know what’s coming until it’s already passed. And past. The internet is our forum, and we deleted the middle man. But posts, pix and videos won’t work if we don’t. More has been done toward ending this conflict in the past few months than in all of the 26 years combined… all because of a viral YouTube movie. And though we have come a long, long way in raising awareness and getting our leaders involved – as long as the LRA continues their reign of terror, we cannot say that we’ve done anything at all.
This summer, as you reaffirm your vow to bring LRA atrocities to an end, we ask that you contact your representatives to ask the same. To sign a commitment to say that we will finish strong together. Our representatives speak for us, and we for each other.
In 2013 and beyond, we will “stop at nothing” to finish what we started because we believe the men on this side are the same men on the same side on the other side.
Kuk co, kun co.
– Danica Russell
++
Think people should hear about this?