Two sides to every story

I woke up this morning to see the words "KONY 2012" plastered all over Facebook. I was intrigued as to why people wanted to "Make Kony famous". "Who, or what, is Kony?" I wondered. A new musician? A festival launching this year? Some new theory in the 2012 apocalypse phenomenon? I deduced from the number of people who had shared it that I would find the answer in the video below - which was described by one of my Facebook friends as "ONE OF THE MOST INVALUABLE AND IMPORTANT 30 MINUTES OF YOUR ENTIRE LIFE":

It sickens me to think that a fellow human being can be so evil, dangerous and manipulative, and I shed more than a few tears at the plight of Jacob and the other children who live or have lived in fear of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army. I also emathised with Jason Russell - co-founder of Invisible Children, maker of the Kony 2012 film and father of Gavin, who fuels his desire to make the world a safer place - as I have always wanted to be a mother, but do not particularly wish to bring a child into a world which is rapidly deteriorating due to various aspects of human behaviour. I, too, am eager to do something to end suffering and make the world a better place, and if Jason has found a way to even begin to do this then I want to do everything I can to support him and his campaign. After all, the fewer baddies out there the better, right?


Well, maybe not as it turns out. I am an avid sitter-on-the fence; I always like to research a story fully before jumping on either side. Unsurprisingly, a counter argument - which you can find here - appeared soon after the Kony 2012 video went viral. Grant Oyston points out flaws of the Kony 2012 campaign and the charity Invisible Children, such as the minute proprtion of their revenue which actually goes to direct services, and the fact that they are in favour military intervention - supporting the Ugandan army who have also been accused of rape and looting. I will not go into all the criticisms as more details can be found on Oyston's Visable Children blog and others such as this one by Musa Okwonga  and this one by Alex Miller, who has saved me a lot of typing as he may as well have taken the words out of my mouth.

Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Lauren Poole - founders of IC and makers of the Kony 2012 film - posing with guns. Hmmm.

Anyway, reading these criticisms made me think about how quick people are to believe, agree with, and support what they are told or shown without necessarily knowing real facts. Although there is a lot of evil in the world, fortunately, the majority of people will jump at the chance of helping those less fortunate than themselves (as long as it requires minimal effort and little to no cost). So when the Kony 2012 video was released, millions of social networkers hit "share" with no hesitation, believing that this simple action will facilitate the capture of Joseph Kony, thus solving all Uganda's problems, thus saving the world...?! Ok, so maybe I am slightly exaggerating the naïvety of the public, and I don't think that I am particularly superior or immune to being fooled by propaganda tactics. But the fact is that most people who shared that video are not aware of all the implications it will have. Please read the blogs I have linked, which explain that members of Kony's child army will have to be killed to reach him, and that even if Kony is caught, it will not necessarily mean the end of the LRA and certainly won't make the issue of rape, abuse and abduction in Uganda disappear. I definitely agree that raising awareness of Kony's crimes is important, but I'm not sure if the Kony 2012 campaign is the most effective way to address the issues.


It is awful to think that something which we take for granted as being good or helpful has the potential to do further harm. It reminded me of this article I read a few months ago, which reveals the fact that westerners who volunteer in developing countries such as Cambodia can do more harm than good, and may actually be preventing orphanages from improving their conditions. Volunteers in these countries are essentially tourists who bring business and aid, and some orphanages reportedly intentionally keep their conditions poor to fuel pity and encourage westerners to return. In fact, one study found that only around a quarter of children in the orphanages had actually lost both parents; many of the rest had been sold or rented out to the orphanages by their parents themselves. Furthermore, volunteers take potential jobs from the locals so they are in fact often damaging communities' economies. Do read the article as it's really interesting and highlights some issues I would never have considered myself.


So, what CAN we do? I wish I had all the answers. I wish I knew how we could help these children rather than pointing out all the ways we're failing to do so. But I don't. There is so much propaganda in the world that we never know the whole story of either side. I have always said that if I won the lottery I would set up my own projects helping people around the world rather than give to existing charities. That way I could truly have a say in where my money goes and I could see the effect my work would have on a group or a community. But what do I know? How would I be able to lead a successful project when these charities and organisations which have been going for years are supposedly failing? I guess I'll have to wait til I win the lottery to see if I can change the world. But for now, I think I'll stay up here on my fence.


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