Sean Poole

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.

Sean Poole is Invisible Children’s Counter-LRA Programs Manager. He is currently living in Kampala, Uganda.

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When a group of international organizations and governments got together in 1959 to call for an end to smallpox, the end goal was to get the disease to zero hosts. Because as long as one individual is infected, the disease still exists and can rebound stronger than before. Invisible Children is taking that same approach towards the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). By many people’s standards, we could hang the “Mission Accomplished” banner — attacks are down 92% over the past few years, LRA commanders have smaller units, fewer supplies and very little ammunition to carry out attacks on local communities. However, hanging that banner would overlook an important element of the LRA; like an infectious disease, they simply need to survive to win. At this point, they are not rebels. They are not fighting for the overthrow of any government, or for a belief system, they are fighting for mere existence. And just like an infectious disease, the LRA needs very little to survive and come back twice as virulent. They’ve shown incredible resilience and have bounced back after being pushed out of northern Uganda, losing most external support and losing almost 10% of their fighters to defection in 2012. We should not discredit what we’ve accomplished over the past few years, but let’s push forward to #zeroLRA.

Here are a few key steps we need to get to zero LRA:

1. The removal of top commanders from the battlefield

The LRA is a top-heavy organization. Kony remains the sole individual who has command and control of the LRA, and there are questions as to whether another individual could step in and fill his shoes. There are likely 2-3 other commanders who could try to step up and keep the LRA together, though it would be in a much weaker state. We need to encourage the surrender of these top commanders, or support their removal from the battlefield in order to prevent such a situation from occurring.

2. Defection of mid-level commanders, LRA fighters, and women and children

Many LRA fighters, as well as their wives and children in the bush, are unwilling combatants or were abducted. Having been forced into this life they can feel as if there is no opportunity for them at home. We need to continue to encourage them to surrender and establish outlets for their defection through Come Home Messaging and the improvement of Safe Reporting Sites.

3. Capitalizing on big counter-LRA victories by facilitating mass defections

If Kony or another top-commander are captured or killed, we must use the immediate aftermath of the event to encourage mass defections, and make the LRA aware that their leader no longer has control or in command of their group. We want to cause members of the LRA to feel as if they are now welcome home and there  is nothing keeping them in the bush any longer. We will use messaging that doesn’t tout their “defeat” but lets them know that it is over, and they are now free to come home.

A few months ago on a trip to CAR, I met Sarah, who at 16 was abducted by the LRA and forced to become the wife of Okot Odhiambo, the 2nd in command of the LRA. Two years later, she escaped with a child… His child. She is now 19 and her opportunity to be a teenager has been robbed. She has been unable to make enough money to care for her child, she is unable to return to school, and her prospects for marriage are significantly lower. She makes ends meet by selling baked goods on the side of the road.

I want to get to zero LRA for her. I am angry for her and all other victims of the LRA whose lives have been stripped from them by no fault of their own.

Until we get to zero, we will not stop.

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Act now to let your leaders know you too want to see #zeroLRA. Find your elected officials’ contact information on our website.