KONY 2012 | Teen Ink

KONY 2012

March 6, 2012
By hachoo GOLD, Brooklyn, New York
hachoo GOLD, Brooklyn, New York
16 articles 10 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day. &rdquo; <br /> ― Markus Zusak


Logging onto facebook, checking my Tumblr, going on Twitter and there's all this talk about Kony. I wondered, "Who is this guy?" and do what I normally do, google it. After reading a few articles, and reading my usual unreliable but still helpful source Wikipedia I still didn't really understand what was going on. Going back on Facebook I saw a group created by my school's students and there was a video posted. I thought maybe watching it would help me better grasp the idea of this seemingly worldwide phenomenon.

So there I was on Youtube, and I clicked the play button. I watched intently, while trying to do my homework until what Jason Russell, the man heading this movement, was saying caught my immediate attention. I realized that what was going on in Uganda was really serious. I wanted to help.

For those of you who still don't know about Joseph Kony, he is a man in Uganda, Africa who has been abducting children, innocent and helpless children and making them kill others, hurt others, and even murder their own parents. Kony is the leader of LRA which is Leaders' Resistance Army that is using violence to go against theocratic government in Uganda. He has been using the young girls as sex slaves and young boys to fight violently. In the middle of the night, he would get his "soldiers" to take these kids away from their parents leaving what I would imagine to be a horrific discovery. To wake up and have your child gone, knowing they have probably been taken away to be fored to lead a life of violence and pain. These abductions have forced children to sleep together as a group and stay in town because their homes are in desolate places. Kony has abducted an estimated 66,000 children already and is continuing to do so. He promises peace to the people but only does so to regain faith in him and power. This man is evil in my opinion.

This subject has been brought to many peoples' attention but not enough. There are politicians who are aware and finally just recently it has been declared that the United States would capture Kony and put him in jail. Unfortunately, Kony was brought to the attention that the United States was trying to arrest him. He started to change his plans which made it much harder to capture him. Right now, the United States is trying to find him. We don't have any knowledge of where he is and the goal of John Russell, head of KONY 2012 is to spread the word and get this man. My goal is to spread the word. I just want others to know about the horrors children face in Africa and around the world. Us, teens and even adults who live in the U.S. are blessed and fortunate. We have luxuries and live in relative peace. We usually don't think about what we have. All I can do is spread the word and try to get people to do the same. The more people who know, the more can be done. On April 20th, John Russell has announced that anyone interested in KONY 2012 can post posters and stickers at night and the U.S. can wake up to streets covered in Kony's name.

After watching the video and slowly soaking the horrible things that were happening, I decided I wanted to be part of this movement. I wanted to be a part of "shaping history", I wanted to make a difference and I will. I will by spreading the word and getting involved.


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This article has 2 comments.


blizzard101 said...
on Mar. 15 2012 at 6:52 am
blizzard101, Dibble, Oklahoma
0 articles 1 photo 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
i don&#039;t care if you hate my art,just keep it to your self

i heard about this 2 days ago,i even went to the web site,and i RELY hate the guy.oh,and radicalhonesty,how did you chose your name?

on Mar. 8 2012 at 7:56 pm
radicalhonesty GOLD, Alpharetta, Georgia
12 articles 2 photos 65 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is no situation, facet, or aspect of life that cannot be improved with pizza. -Daria

Just so you know, I have checked this out thoroughly. Yes, the child soldier crisis is a worthy cause. But Kony has moved out of Uganda for 6 years now, and the war is basically over except for some erruptions of violence. Instead of targeting Uganda's government and questioning their humanity policies, Invisible Children is targeting US lawmakers. Instead of focusing on rebuilding Uganda and the poverty situation, Invisible Children is spending money to fight a war that is over and pointless. The best thing we can do right now is help rehabilitate the lives of former child soldiers. Please check out this article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2012/mar/08/kony-2012-what-s-the-story

Just copy paste it into your browser.