Joseph Kony mk II (-write to your MP, don't share a video)

So I got all annoyed about this whole Invisible Children thing. Basically, how can you achieve change through liking a status and/or sharing a video? If you want to influence the government and your Facebook privacy settings are anything like mine, they're not even going to be able to see that I've shared the video/liked the Facebook page/pledged my support anyway. So I drafted some letters you could write to your MP and possibly even a Lord, to show you feel strongly on the issue. I've already advised against donating money to Invisible Children until things become a bit more transparent with regards to their finances, so this is something to do in the interim if you feel strongly. Or you could always donate some money to Save the Children...

If you would like to copy and paste it (make sure you change the name of the MP and the name of the constituency/area you live in) then please do! If you don't know who your MP is, or how to contact them, here is a good place to start (or try Googleing them; most MPs have websites these days). As if doing good for the world wasn't enticing enough, if you write the a letter, they send one back on really posh paper! Or maybe you want to write to your MP on a totally other issue. Well now you know how. Remember, they have thousands of letters to read and reply to every day, so it might take a while before you get a response. Try not to be mean or aggressive, even if they're not from the party you support - you want to get them on side!

"Dear Mr/Mrs -------

                        I am writing to you today to express my deep concern about events that have been happening in Uganda for the last 26 years. After watching the viral video by ‘Invisible Children’, ‘Kony 2012’, I was stunned that such atrocities can go on behind the world’s back. If a government was snatching children in this country, forcing them to kill, maim and mutilate our citizens, not only would the rest of the world condemn us, but every single news channel would be reporting it.

            Unless you have not got an Internet connection, I trust that you have seen the video by now. If not, it is easily accessible by Google, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, and you should probably watch it now, before you read any further. The video may seem idealistic and very American, but the sentiment is true. Invisible Children may not be the most reputable of charities, but their work bringing this to light has to be commended and their main aim: to bring about the arrest of Joseph Kony has my full support. Not just the British Government, but the whole of Parliament should be endorsing the arrest and removal from power of Joseph Kony. While I am stunned this is not already on the lips of every single person in Britain, it is not too late to change this.

            I urge you to put your full support to and to encourage your fellow MPs, not to mention Lords, interns, researchers, security guards, cleaners and canteen staff be they Labour, Liberal Democrat or Conservative to do the same. It is you who can make a difference on the world stage. Please, pledge your support to the cause and use the influence you have to raise the issue in the Government, and spread awareness to your constituents in ------.

Yours sincerely,

---------"

It's hardly going to win any awards for the Best Letter Written Ever in the Whole Entire World competition, but I think it does the job. If you want to write your own letter, remember to include:

• Your name and address
• An outline of the Kony issue
• Mention of the video
• The fact that you want the government to do something about it
• If you support the Invisible Children, feel free to mention that too

I then used writetothem to send a message to a Lord. You can use the search engine to write to a Lord who already knows about the issue - type in 'Kony' in the top box. Or maybe you want to raise awareness of the issue to a Lord who hasn't already spoken about the issue.

"Dear Lord ---,

It was with disgust that I viewed a viral video made by 'Invisible Children' about Joseph Kony. I had previously not been aware of the state off affairs in Uganda and was shocked that this has not been in the news every day for the last 26 years. Invisible Children may not be the most reputable of charities, but their work bringing this to light has to be commended and their main aim: to bring about the arrest of Joseph Kony has my full support. I have written to my MP, urging him to use his influence to raise awareness and support for the arrest of this dreadful man. I wished to write to a Lord as well, and through the topic search engine on 'writetothem' I found that you have spoken about Kony before in the Lords. 

I urge you to readdress the issue, particularly as now is a time when knowledge of Kony's hideous crimes is becoming prevalent. Thousands upon thousands of people are viewing this video and speaking out against Kony, but the people of Britain are powerless unless those in power sit up and listen to what we are saying. Enough is enough and more needs to be done, by Britain and the world to stop him.

Yours sincerely,

----- "

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Who is Joseph Kony and just who are Invisible Children?

No doubt if you're into social media, you will have heard of 'Kony' or 'Invisible Children' over the last few weeks, days and hours. It's the new viral thing. But with a change. This isn't a video of a kid biting his little brother's finger to make you laugh. This is a video claiming to be an experiment, to see what social media can do. So here it is. Watch it and make up your own mind:

If anything it is inspirational! The only thing I would say is that for a 'worldwide' video, it sure is aimed mostly at the USA! Anyway, share it, talk about it, sign the pledge, do what you want in reaction to it. After you have read all the facts. But remember, this is only one of the terrible things going on in the world today, perhaps we need to focus on more than one issue at a time. Spreading awareness of something this awful can't be a bad thing, surely, and together perhaps something can be done about it. However, I am not going to endorse buying anything from the Invisible Children's website and I am going to try and explain why.

Some people are claiming that Kony is no longer at large (see the WordPress article). That he has moved into other parts of Africa and his atrocities committed in Uganda have largely blown over. So what? He committed the crime, and one of the number one points that Invisible Children are campaigning for is to have him arrested. This is surely not a bad thing, even if it has blown over. He has turned young girls in to sex slaves, allowed the rape of hundreds of women and stolen young boys away from their families, turning them in to child soldiers. Therefore, regardless of whether or not this has all blown over, surely it is important to bring this man to justice. Remember the Nazis? Well, long after the war ended there were all sorts of organisations trying to find Nazi's who had committed horrifying acts and bring them to justice and had fled (many to South America) following the war. Why should this be any different?


As I've already stressed, Joseph Kony is only one person in the world committing atrocities, there are many more who should also be stopped and/or brought to justice, but this is a start. The important thing is, it's got people thinking about more than last night's episode of Eastenders. It's inspiring enough to watch the video, and then to see it shared all over your Facebook news feed, by people who have never previously shown any interest in what's going on in the world outside their country. I think this in itself is brilliant. I hope that at least some of those people continue to stay interested and this isn't a one off thing. If somehow a campaign like this can help this awful man be brought to justice, then in some ways, whether or not he has left Uganda or the issue has 'blown over' is a little bit irrelevant. OK, if the world had sat up and taken notice in 2004 or 2005, it may have been dealt with quicker, and less children would have been affected, but at least something is being done now. After all, short of having a time machine, we can't go back and change things.


Now for the real bad bit. I have linked to a reddit post at the bottom of this article. This claims (along with the Visible Children tumblr - really worth a read) that Invisible Children hardly spend any of the money that they receive in donations on actually helping their own cause. Most of it goes on 'expenses'. The figure quoted is 32% of their income going on direct services. Many charities have between 80% and 90% going on direct services. This is obviously worrying. I can't verify this, but there's more than one person saying it, in fact, there's quite a lot, and they're starting to shout it. Obviously, make up your own mind. I've shared the video on all my social media platforms; I find it inspirational. I will not, however, be supporting Invisible Children; just their cause.


On balance, Joseph Kony is a man who I would like to see the back of, but I don't think Invisible Children are the ones we should be throwing money at to make it happen. If anyone knows of any charities that spend their money more appropriately, then please link me to them and I will include them in here for those who still want to donate something. 

If you want to help, write to your MP or a Lord (or if you're from outside the UK, whoever represents you). Get involved that way, but I would urge people to keep hold of their money until things become a little more transparent. Remember, sitting through a 30 minute video on a subject does not make you the expert. Charities do have motivations and it is important to read up on the facts before getting swept away. I shared the video on facebook, and also shared some articles to the contrary. The sentiment of the video - bringing about change through mass awareness, protest and pressure on governments is fine, but donating to certain charities doesn't always do the good you think it is going to do. It's sad, but it's the truth. 

If you've read this and feel truly disheartened, I'm sorry. The video is inspirational, and hopefully some people have sat up and taken notice of an issue on the global stage which normally wouldn't interest them at all. Campaigning for something you truly believe in is brilliant, but always make sure you do your research.

Here are some links to counter articles to add some balance (I have referred to these):
http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble
http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/qk0pd/kony_2012_help_raise_awareness_and_stop_joseph/c3ycvhb


For those of you who are too lazy to read this, my basic sentiment is: Sure, go and spread the word and the video, but please please please don't donate to Invisible Children!

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