Kony 2012: The Ugandan View

You would have to be living under a rock to have not heard of the "Kony 2012" video and Invisible Children initiative. In a week, the video, that introduces Joseph Kony, man behind brutal killings and children soldiers in Uganda, garnered nearly 80 million views on YouTube and Vimeo. The charity Invisible Children is behind the video which is a group that is hoping to rehabilitate child soldiers and, most recently, bring those behind the violence to justice. The thoughts behind the video is to make Kony famous and bring awareness to the issue to rouse the American government to get involved. There are, however, issues with the initiative.

For starters, Kony is at-large and thought to not be even in Uganda. If this is true, it would be near to impossible to track him down in the depths of the Jungle or landscape of sub-saharan Africa. But, there are issues brought up by Ugandans, the very people who were abducted by Kony. On Tuesday, Invisible Children decided to screen the video to the people in Uganda, they are the people closest to the situation and should be aware of how the world is seeing this issue.

It was not well received. Viewers were upset the video was narrated by a white American male and showcased his relationship with his son. The video shots from Uganda are allegedly from years ago. Many of the Ugandans feel that the situation is oversimplified and having merchandise displaying Kony, even if it is to make people aware, is celebrating the man that brought along their suffering.

While I am not arguing that this isn't a good cause, because it is. I believe that anyone acting with such violence and brutality should be brought to justice, but with all the different sides to the issue, it is interesting to look at the Kony initiative through the Ugandan's eyes which is, oddly enough, the one least publicized. This issue needs to be looked at through the utilitarian model taking in to account those closest to the issue and how it effects them. For more reading, and a video go to: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/kony-2012-disappoints-ugandan-audience-public-screening-lira-article-1.1039291

*note this blog was written with the assumption that those reading are already familiar with the subject matter and background of the Kony video*