Spring Break
Film aims to end Ugandan civil war
Emily Johnson
Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Verve
Imagine that 40,000 children were abducted from their homes in the middle of the night and forced to join a rebel army as killers. It seems unlikely here in the U.S., but in Northern Ugandan, it happens every day.
The CSU chapter of the international organization, Invisible Children, is hosting a film event tonight to bring about public awareness to the crisis resulting from a 22-year-long civil war in Northern Uganda.
"We hope to get as many people to know about this unseen war and to actively participate in ending it," said Amanda Cupido, president of CSU Invisible Children.
"The Rescue of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers," is a documentary about the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army and the story of the children abducted to fight his war against the Ugandan government to implement his own religious-based government.
The child soldiers are not Uganda's only concern.
The approximately one dozen active members of the club, which formed in 2007, participate in a program called "Schools for Schools," which raises money for Gulu High School in Uganda. This sister organization strives to inform people about the displacement of more than 100,000 people due to the war and the condition of the camps they are relocated to.
"About 1,000 people die a week in these camps due to unsanitary conditions," Cupido said. "These camps are not only killing people, they're taking away their culture too."
Though horrific, civil wars and social crises in developing countries commonly go unnoticed by those not affected by them. According to the World Bank report, "Understanding Civil War," approximately 20 million people have been killed and 67 million displaced by civil war since 1945.
After learning about Invisible Children a few years ago through a film she watched in high school, sophomore restaurant and resort management major Gabriella Polen was shocked.
"I felt so in the dark and even mad at myself for not knowing anything at all about a civil war that was affecting a country for 20 years," she said.
The CSU chapter of the international organization, Invisible Children, is hosting a film event tonight to bring about public awareness to the crisis resulting from a 22-year-long civil war in Northern Uganda.
"We hope to get as many people to know about this unseen war and to actively participate in ending it," said Amanda Cupido, president of CSU Invisible Children.
"The Rescue of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers," is a documentary about the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army and the story of the children abducted to fight his war against the Ugandan government to implement his own religious-based government.
The child soldiers are not Uganda's only concern.
The approximately one dozen active members of the club, which formed in 2007, participate in a program called "Schools for Schools," which raises money for Gulu High School in Uganda. This sister organization strives to inform people about the displacement of more than 100,000 people due to the war and the condition of the camps they are relocated to.
"About 1,000 people die a week in these camps due to unsanitary conditions," Cupido said. "These camps are not only killing people, they're taking away their culture too."
Though horrific, civil wars and social crises in developing countries commonly go unnoticed by those not affected by them. According to the World Bank report, "Understanding Civil War," approximately 20 million people have been killed and 67 million displaced by civil war since 1945.
After learning about Invisible Children a few years ago through a film she watched in high school, sophomore restaurant and resort management major Gabriella Polen was shocked.
"I felt so in the dark and even mad at myself for not knowing anything at all about a civil war that was affecting a country for 20 years," she said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Richard Kern
posted 4/21/09 @ 8:28 PM MST
Watch out for Invisible Children! They have very questionable financial practices and have been failed by the Better Business Bureau every year since 2006 for not agreeing to financial transparency. (Continued…)
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