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.
Jaclyn Licht has been one of Invisible Children’s most ardent and active supporters for years. Here she shares why:
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“If we remember a face, even just one face, then we can never forget.”
This I recently heard from a soft-spoken, kindly tour guide of a Holocaust museum. After touring the museum, I felt emotionally exhausted, disgusted and almost cynical. No matter how many times I visit this museum or hear survivors’ firsthand accounts, I wonder how this staggering magnitude of death could have ever been a reality. Additionally, how is it that the world continues to carry out senseless killing? Is there any use hoping for a better future?
What’s more, I was confused by this tour guide’s bizarrely positive attitude, especially while working at such an institution. He explained that at the beginning of each tour, he instructs visitors to pick out at least one face, name or story. That way, they see the millions of victims not as a statistic, but as individuals with unique backgrounds and personalities. When we personalize these narratives, we cannot dismiss the Holocaust as just another chapter in the history books, but as an event that must not be repeated. After all, how could we let a fellow person suffer in such a way?
The importance of empathy, as echoed by this tour guide, is what drives Invisible Children and its activists to seek an end to the suffering of those affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. I believe the elimination of the LRA is vital because, to put it simply, any level of violence must not be tolerated. What drives me in this pursuit, however, is the notion that the power of empathy is infectious; personal stories are what drive large-scale change, and what will ultimately bring a complete end to the LRA.
My story begins with Brenda, the first Ugandan to visit my high school on October 14, 2010. Brenda’s father suffered a fatal heart attack while attempting to flee an incoming LRA invasion. The loss of her father threatened to halt her academic career, for her family relied upon her assistance at home. Brenda managed, however, to successfully seek out a high school scholarship from Invisible Children. She finished high school, graduated college and spoke of dreams to one day become a member of the Ugandan Parliament.
Brenda’s story resonated with its audience. She left our entire school community brimming with the motivation to raise funds and awareness to ensure that others would not suffer the same fate as Brenda’s father and that other Ugandan students could reach the same academic potential as Brenda.
It is the moving nature of this community activism that continuously inspires me to be a storyteller in my own right. In particular, my first lobby meeting reinforced my belief in the power of a personal narrative. I approached the meeting with the preconceived notion that any member of Congress was too busy to talk to a group of high school and college students and that our chances of influencing them were minimal.
My experience was quite the opposite. Senator John Kerry’s staff actively listened to our explanation of the LRA conflict, but they were most intrigued by each of our own personal reasons for lobbying. Each of my fellow lobbyists shared similar stories to mine, of the exposure to an LRA survivor’s story (either in person or through an IC film) and the power it instilled within themselves and their communities. What’s more, this fascination with our stories leads our representatives to act, as proved by the LRA Disarmament Act, Obama’s 2011 deployment of military advisors, and a number of other resolutions in support of the counter-LRA movement. I continue to lobby to several members of Congress on Invisible Children’s behalf, and each time they express their sincere interest in the LRA and admiration for Invisible Children’s young, truly dedicated activists.
Sharing our stories is not enough. Due to the extensive lobbying efforts around the nation, relentless international awareness campaigns, and, of course, the historic surge of KONY 2012, the world now knows of the terror inflicted by the LRA. Thanks in part to those efforts, statistics show that LRA defections rose and death tolls fell within the past year. But we cannot celebrate these victories until Joseph Kony and his commanders are brought to justice and the abducted return home.
As Invisible Children embarks on its #zeroLRA campaign and yet another step towards achieving its vision, let us each remember a face and a story. I remember Brenda’s, and I remember my fellow lobbyists’. With them in mind, I cannot ignore the imperative nature of IC’s mission to bring an end to the LRA. Can you?
– Jaclyn Licht
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