Uganda: Becoming Visible at Last
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The Monitor (Kampala)
March 17, 2006
Posted to the web March 16, 2006
Posted to the web March 16, 2006
Steven Tendo
20 years after the first pleas for mercy were heard coming out of the north of Uganda, with the children crying and asking for the meaning of Kony's war, the message has finally got to the western world in a unique way.
Inst
ead of
just reaching the talking heads who sit on the world's biggest policy organisations and decide who gets help and who does not, the message fell on the ears of three young Americans who had one thing in common; resilience. Now, because of their relentless persistence, the greatest casualties of the war, the children have found their hope.
The news that the war in northern Uganda is finally making an impact in corporate America should bring a sense of triumph to Ugandans. In the last few weeks, Uganda's 20-year-old war has been on the silver screen in the US and finally, hopefully, the right questions shall be asked all around the world.
Though we did not have any film featuring at the recently concluded Oscars and Ugandan film makers might have to wait some time before they can rub shoulders with the glitterati of Tinsel Town, we did not do so badly after all.
Invisible Children, the one-ho
ur
documentary film done in 2003 in northern Uganda has been raising enough dust in the entire US and there is no way the rest of the world will continue turning a blind eye to the tragedy in the north.
Invisible Children was born out of chance. By chance, three film school graduates, Bobby Bailey, Jason Russell and their friend, Laren Poole made a detour and decided to turn their attention to northern Uganda, after their primary objective turned out to be a flop.
The American students had come to Africa with the intention of making a startling documentary about the war in the Sudan.
When they got to Darfur, they did not find what they wanted in the first place. There was no action of the kind they had in mind. So they decided to go on to northern Uganda. What they found there was far more startling than they had been led to believe was in Darfur.
The tragedy in S
udan in
2003 caught the world's attention and there were calls for humanitarian intervention but the world ignored the crisis in northern Uganda, which had been going on for more than 15 years. When Bailey, Rusell and Poole reached northern Uganda, the scales fell off their eyes and they saw the real meaning of suffering.
They could not believe what they were seeing as they filmed. They were moved by the tragic tales of the children, most of who had lost their parents and who were at the mercy of the elements. They concentrated on the "shocking stuff," like Jacob, the little boy who told them to kill him and his brother if possible because "We don't want to stay. We are only two with no one to take care of us."
Invisible Children comes on the heels of another film, Lost Children, which documents the experiences of four children who were abducted from their homes and forced into rebellion but later escaped. It focuses on their
trials
as they tried to join their families again only to discover that they were not welcome anymore.
The film was screened in the Australian parliament, the British House of Commons and even shown to the German President. However, the effect of this first film has not been as hard as that of Invisible Children, mainly because the action stayed mainly in the parliament building where it was easy to hide the real impact. With Invisible Children, the common man is taking the matter into his own hand and forcing his government to act.
For a Ugandan, most of the tales that come out of the war zone might not sound as grizzly. Even for the majority that have not stepped foot in the region for the last 20 years, the war has taken its toll on all of the citizenry.
Even in places as far flung as Kampala the victims of the war, the mutilated, scarred faces of survivors roam the city and remind us of this
blight
on our conscience. They remind us every waking day that there is a bandit raping our country and placing us all in a collective fix that will not go away for another quarter century even when the war finally ends.
After the prayers of Ugandans, along with the donations through their churches and the money that has found its way into coffers dedicated to northern Uganda's sufferers, the people of this country have caught the disease that afflicts the people in the war zones. So when these American youths came up with this simple plan, it could be seen as an answer to prayer.
For 20 long years, the world looked on as the children of Uganda were abducted and turned into murderers. Now that Bailey and his friends have taken the Kony war right into the American Congress, maybe, this is what we needed all this time.
Merchandise
The film Invisible Chi
ldren
has spawned the usual merchandise that is associated with a conscience film. The difference is that the makers of the film have actually put the money from sales of the different paraphernalia to good use, sending the children who have been rescued to good schools and paying for the surgery of some of the unfortunates one who have been mutilated.
The film has created more than just an upsurge of emotion in America. The team that runs Invisible Children Inc, as the organisation is called, is made up of 15 young men and women, all in their 20s. They have gone out of their way to resettle former abductees in school and also seen to the medical expenses of the victims. But the campaign has spawned more programmes.
The Bracelet Campaign was started to combat the problems that have come up because of the war. The pioneers of Invisible Children Inc. saw that the people were incapacitated by disease, hunger and illiteracy.
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"The people were dying at a rate of emergency," the statement reads in part on www.invisiblechildren.com. The young people came up with the bracelet campaign, which is proving to be effective.
Representing a different child and a different story, the bracelets are sold in different colours. In the western world, the bracelets are being sold on the organisation's website at $19.99. When one buys the bracelet, they get a digital versatile disc to accompany it. This will hopefully help to push the message even further and is meant to garner more support for the organisation.
In addition to bracelets, the organisation is selling T-Shirts to raise money. They are trading with Target Stores, a general merchandise store in the US.
Global night commute
On April 29, 2006, all across America children will emulate the children of Nor
thern
Uganda and sleep on the streets of their cities. They have been told about the night commuters who leave their homes in the early evening to go to the towns for whatever protection they can get from the UPDF.
Those who have seen Invisible Children: Rough Cut, the film first launched in Uganda in 2004, have passed on the message and the following has grown. People have been registering for the Global Night Commune to commiserate with the suffering children of northern Uganda.
The story of the night commuters would sound simple. Even with the great numbers of film makers and other artistes who have been working with this subject for donkey's years, it seems that there was always something missing. That something was supposed to prod the world into action. The world was supposed to listen and respond to the cry of the oppressed children. Alas, it did not happen.
Being associated with the chil
dren of
northern Uganda has had an impact on Bobby Bailey, Jason Russell and Laren Poole. Before they came to Uganda, they had never heard machine gun fire except in Hollywood movies.
Before their experiences in war torn Gulu, they had never suffered from some of the diseases they caught in the months they spent with the traumatised people. They learnt that life was more important than they had been taught to believe. Even with the dangers that surrounded them (they were near the fighting more than twice), they still came back to Uganda and continued with their crusade.
They definitely grew up in those months. From young carefree students who did not care for anything apart from themselves, they have turned into real managers with a crucial mission. They now lead a dedicated team of like-minded young people who are determined to make a change if it is the last thing they do.
What it took for Ameri
ca to
take the issue to congress and to get the youth of that country to act was the diversion that happened when the three friends decided that Darfur was not a good enough subject for their film. Three years later, the project that started as a summer film school project has grown into something with the potential to soften the hearts of rebellious combatants and to bring healing to a hurting region.
I watched the Invisible Children
FLORA ADUK
It is amazing to the filmmakers that a documentary that cut across as a simple movie made by young tourists could become a big hit in the US three years later. When I watched the Invisible Children, I was touched, though the story of the misery caused by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army was not new because I hail from the north myself.
However what is fascinating about the documentary is the care
free way
the children narrate their ordeals. Three boys in particular were zeroed in on, to take the filmmakers through the days of their lives.
The boys led the filmmakers to the underground veranda at Lacor Hospital where they had to first sweep a flood of water before laying down their cardboard mattresses. Inspite of the living conditions life goes on as normal as they do their homework under a dim lamp. In fluent English, the boys express how they have adapted to the situation and the only thing that matters to them is that they are alive.
Their mornings begin with a face wash wherever they can find water before they trek back to the town centre schools. Fear and sadness is not only in their eyes despite the chuckles here and there as they talk about their lives but also in the surroundings that depict poverty.
The images of pot bellied children with mucuos dripping from their noses, others lo
oking on
in disillusionment and confusion, poorly clothed children with hopeless parents, homeless children all speak out for themselves. It also spreads out to involve other children who narrate how their parents and relatives were massacred.
"When ever I hear bullets my heart keeps bleeping, bleeping," is a line by one of the boys that stuck in my mind. Children as young as seven years old are filmed carrying guns that look heavier than they are. The child soldiers take on roles of commanding troops in fire exchanges having been left with no choice after being recruited by rebels.
Even in the wake of the crisis the children remain just that, children as they cheerfully reveal their favourite musicians like Ja Rule, and Tupac. One amusingly wonders if he would ever meet Ja Rule and another wonders to the US filmmakers whether J-lo has a daughter because he would like to marry her. They play war games, joke, sing and hope that
one day
the war will end.
Moving away from the lives of these particular boys the documentary explores the movement of night commuters from their homes to the hospital verandas that become full to the extent that there is no space to set foot on. While they come in the night and unpack their polythene bags bringing out their simple beddings, in the mornings they neatly pack up and leave.
The documentary brings out everyday life in northern Uganda, at times showing a scuffle between soldiers and the filmmakers as they chase them away from the scene where they are filming the night commuters.
The documentary exhibits the drawings of children, which portray their feelings. Their minds seem to be intoxicated with images of war as most pictures are of soldiers plus people with bleeding limbs and violence. With such simplicity the filmmakers managed to capture the way the rebel activities have affected
the
lives of children in Northern Uganda.
Who is behind the movie?
Jason Rusell, 27, director
He graduated from the University of Southern Carlifornia's film school in 2002. In October 2004, he married his childhood sweetheart, Danica. His passions involve surfing, reading, debating with his dad and brother, laughing with his wife, dancing, and travelling. He loves to learn new things, and teach what he has learned.
He plans ahead, but is electrified by spontaneity. He is a collector. He is dedicated. He is an artist. He is the pied-piper. He loves to stir, excite, and involve people- young and old. "Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Bobby Bailey, 24, filmmaker
Came home from Africa just in time to get his degre
e in
cinema-television at the University of Southern Carlifornia in May of 2005. Doing theatre in high school and debate in college has solidified Bobby's belief in the power of stories and ideas to radically effect lives. Bobby loves words. He loves to laugh and make others laugh. He loves rhetoric, the old and the new thinkers, falling in love, music, basketball, and dancing. Bobby says Jason and Laren inspire him daily.
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Laren Poole, 22, filmmaker
Took a break from finishing his Structural Engineering degree at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), in order to pursue the completion of Invisible Children, and the ripples it has started. Before the film he designed for and was involved with Jedidiah clothing company. He is the style and "secret weapon" of Invisible Children. His passions lie in Music, punking his friends, film, art, fashion,
Dave
Chappelle, talks with his mom, honest people, and the ocean.
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