I am sure you have
heard about Kony 2012: it has gone viral faster than any other viral
infection we have seen on the interwebs. It is prove of the
collective power of the internet, and not for some useless campaign
making an earth sandwich, but rather a worthy cause.
Or is it?
Let me first tell you
about Invisible Children, the charity behind this successful
campaign. You would have probably seen the film, perhaps even moved
to tears by it. It was the genius of film-maker Jason Russell.
Probably a nice guy, who did this film because he wants to do what is
right. And that is what he is probably doing. But that does not
explain his annual US$90,000 salary given to him by Invisible
Children. That is just his income, it does not include the expenses
spent for making the film: the equipment, the software, the
travelling fees, etc.
Now, let us look at the charity's expenses. They spent a total of US$8.9 million of donations in 2011. Of that, US$1.7 million was the employees' salaries, US$357,000 for the film costs, US$850,000 for production, US$244,000 for “Professional services”, US$1.07 million for travel, US$400,000 for their nice San Diego office, US$16,000 for entertainment, etc. So how much actually went to their charity programme? US$2.8 million. That is merely 31% of the total amount.
Invisible Children is also known for supporting the Ugandan army in order “Stop Kony”. Just a slight problem here: Kony is not in Uganda, but rather, somewhere in Sudan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. What use is it to give an army which does not have any powers over other countries with the money? And what is left of the money not given to the military? Only a tiny amount of the time and money donated to Invisible Children will actually be used to do what they claim to do.
Now let us take a break
from Invisible Children, and instead focus on Joseph Kony. He is a
horrible, horrible person: that goes without saying. Recruiting
children to fight for the Lord's Resistance Army: it is just
unthinkable. Now let us look at the President of Uganda and the Chief
of the Ugandan Army, Yoweri Museveni. He is the good guy, trying to
pursue Kony and stop him once and for all, for the good of his
people. Right?
Not really. You see, the problem is that Museveni is a dictator who had been in power since 1986. The army he used to take over the power? The Uganda People's Defence Force, which was known back then as the National Resistance Army. The same NRA which recruited child soldiers to gain power.
Not really. You see, the problem is that Museveni is a dictator who had been in power since 1986. The army he used to take over the power? The Uganda People's Defence Force, which was known back then as the National Resistance Army. The same NRA which recruited child soldiers to gain power.
I would also like to
point out about a policy made under Museveni upon the Acholi, a race
of people living in Northern Uganda. It was a policy of forced
displacement, displacing the Acholi into displacement camps. The
problem with this was that the government did not bother to even
provide basic utilities to them. This led to 1,000 people to die
weekly. 1,000 people a week! Sure, the LRA may have killed a few
hundred people every month, but the camps set up under Museveni made
a thousand people die every month. So who is really the world's most
evil person?
I would like to make it
clear that the reason for writing this is not because I am an evil
bastard who wants to prevent Uganda from taking any step towards
peace. Rather, it is the habit of us social media users, just
clicking “Share” without thinking or rationalising whether what
was being shared was true. We seem to be a culture of joiners,
joining every cause without verifying anything. In the case of Kony
2012, this behaviour have caused us to not only donate and spend our
time for a fraudulent charity, but also allowing it to spread
quickly, making more people do the same.
Another issue would be
the fallacy that all it takes is a quick share, or buying some
bracelets, or donating a small amount of money will help. “Every
cent counts”. Only to oneself. This small action, which really does
not inconvenience anyone a little, boosts their ego a lot. It makes
one feel good, like they have done something right. However, just
because it makes one feel good does not mean it serves the cause they
are fighting for. The only thing it serves would be one's ego.
Invisible Children
knows this. That is why they made such a touching and personal video,
tugging away at your heartstrings in Kony 2012. That is why they
spent the first ten minutes explaining how a small action can effect
a large reaction. That is why they kept showing the imagery of
“Sharing” in the introduction of the film. They said you can make
a change with 3 simple steps. So someone followed the steps: it made
that person feel like he/she had made a difference. So he/she shared
it, saying how much the film impacted him/her. The cycle repeats.
Essentially, the video
for Kony 2012 was nothing but emotional porn. Which makes the spread
so much more effective: by making you go “Aww”, causing you to do
whatever the purpose of that was, and secondly by making anyone who
questions it a cold-hearted wanker, basically preventing any type of
scepticism or verification.
If you really wish to
help Uganda, then focusing on Kony would be a mistake. As I have
written above, Yoweri Museveni and his government have caused the
deaths of substantially more of their people than Joseph Kony have.
Ugandan government is a dictatorship, with horrible human rights
crimes against their own people. Political crimes are aplenty, where
members of the opposition party are unlawfully arrested so their
elections go uncontested. Abuses by the Ugandan security forces, like
torture and illegal detainment, are what we should be focusing on
instead of Kony. User bblevinski from Reddit says it best: “Kony
may be a monster, but he's a relatively small one by comparison.”
Look into other more
credible charities, like Amnesty International, or Common Hope, or
even Doctors Without Borders. The fact is that as humans, we have an
innate desire to help others in need. But remember to show respect to
the people we are helping, and do not ever let our ignorance cloud
the purpose of our actions.
Sources
Invisible Children
Financial Statements:
Against Humanitarian
Impunity: Rethinking Responsibility for Displacement and Disaster in
Northern Uganda:
A Killer Before She Was
Nine:
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