Children in Need Club discuss war in Uganda, host Invisible Children documentary

On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Children in Need Club welcomed two of the people involved in the production of "The Rescue of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers," a documentary that exposes the tragic realities of northern Uganda's night commuters and child soldiers, to the Loyola community. The documentary, sponsored by the Invisible Children organization, uses the powerful story of three boys who traveled to Africa to inspire young people to help end the longest running war in Africa.

Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole and Jason Russell, childhood friends from southern California, had a passion for making movies. They had a vision for a movie set in Africa and knew it was something they had to pursue. After fundraising from family and friends and six months of planning, the three boys journeyed to Uganda with only $300 in their pockets. They lived in a village with a woman named Jolly Okot and documented each day's work and activities. One night, while traveling back to their residence, they encountered something they were not prepared for. News of a rebel invasion hit the town and as a result, hundreds of children fled to the city to seek safety in abandoned buildings to avoid being abducted by the LRA, north Uganda's rebel army.

The violent history of Uganda started when it was colonized by Great Britain. Great Britain gave jobs and education to the people of the south but forced the people of the north to become laborers and soldiers dividing the country into two fierce sectors. The north formed the Lord's Resistance Army, known as the LRA in 1987. Joseph Kony rose to authority claiming spiritual power and promised success to those who followed him. He began ordering the recruitment of children to build up his army after he lost the support of his people. The LRA kidnaps children while they are sleeping and, oftentimes, the child is ordered to kill their family and friends to create a dependence on the LRA. These children are given weapons and are forced to fight for the LRA. Right now, 90 percent of Kony's army is made up of child soldiers, and in the last two decades Kony is estimated to have abducted 30,000 children for his army. No records are kept of these children's ages or names and their existence is denied by the LRA; essentially, these children become invisible.

"It's interesting because I have never heard anything about this genocide and to never have heard about it is just shocking," said junior Bridget Fitzgerald.

Conscious of the lack of awareness to the problems in northern Uganda, the Invisible Children organization has a nationwide tour to help raise awareness among young people. Natalie Kruse, member of the Children in Need club here on campus, organized for the Invisible Children organization to come to Loyola while on their national tour.

"My inspiration in having Invisible Children come to Loyola was based upon my goal to see an awareness raised on campus about the child soldiers and the organization," said Natalie Kruse, member of the Children in Need Club here on campus.

Although peace talks between the north and the south in Uganda have been arranged, nothing has ever emerged from these discussions that would have forced Joseph Kony to step down and stop committing the massacres throughout Uganda.

The representatives of the Invisible Children organization informed the students at the seminar of ways to help end these atrocities and the violence that has made Uganda one of the most violent places in the world. They asked the audience to sign cards that represent a "Citizens' Arrest Warrant" that calls on President Obama to lead the effort to stop Joseph Kony, rescue the child soldiers and commit to the recovery of war affected areas. Invisible Children aspires to have 250,000 signatures to send to Washington by Christmas in hopes that President Obama will publicly announce his dedication to recovery in Uganda. Audience members were encouraged to call their local congresspeople and ask them to sign a bill that will dedicate the United States to relief efforts in Uganda as well. Finally, the audience was encouraged to donate to "Tri," an Invisible Children program that raises funds for the rescue of child soldiers.