Invisible Children

So I got my story today of what to talk about on here. In my TCED350 class we watched a video called "Invisible Children". Now I have heard of this before, but only the name nothing about it. The story is devastating, saddening, and amazing. YOU MUST SEE THIS!!!

Here is a brief overview..

There is a country in Africa called Uganda and the Uganda gov't has been in a war with the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) for the past 20 years. The LRA has been wanting to overturn the gov't (for being unjust to the Acholis-these are what the people in Uganda are called). The LRA has very radical ways about handling this, because of their extreme tactics no one wanted to join them.

So, the LRA has been abducting children. The LRA come in at night and literally steal children from their homes, or where ever they are. As the years went on more and more children where so scared about being abducting that they started traveling to the town (most families lived miles away from each other, so it was a little safer in town) and sleeping/hiding out there. Okay, so far not too dramatic, just wait...

There are hundreds, thousands of children who sleep in this town. They sleep whereever they can, on the ground in front of the hospital, in abandanded buildings/room/under buildings...and they are sleeping side by side foot by foot head by head.

The reason these children are so scared of the LRA (they call them the rebels) is because the rebels MAKE these children (ages 5 and up) become their soliders. The rebels go around killing people (not sure who) in unseen ways. They make the CHILDREN THAT THEY ABDUCT KILL PEOPLE! They train this children to become fighters with guns, knives and kill people. They make this children watch as they kill other children who aren't compliying with them or even those children who can't keep up. They make these children watch as the cut legs and arms off of other children. Make them watch as they shot other children, make them watch as they stabbed other children, just anything. This children who watch this in fear of their own lives do as the rebels say and soon become desensitized to all the killings that they do.

The children who are "lucky" enough to not get abducted have whatever clothes (rags) they have on their back, maybe a blanket (if they are lucky), they might get one meal a day, and almost none of them have shoes. These children do not allow themselves to cry. They have no water, no school, NOTHING!

Every child in Uganda is affected by this, whether or not they get abducted or not. There are children starving to death (literally skin and bones), there are children getting killed from the fighting, the girls is abducted are subjected to coming the "wifes" of these rebels (the older ones) and are raped. Whoever does not comply with the rebels is BRUTALLY MURDERED. .

Okay, anyway back on point here...there is a whole lot more to this than what I have told you...since this movie came out the lives of these children have improved. They are getting schooling, food, water, shelter and do not fear for their lives as they did, but there is still a lot that needs to be done. Uganda gov't and the LRA are talking and discussing a peace treaty.

So watch the movie....here is the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0XQEysQJPQ. The whole video can be found on youtube.com but in 6 parts (its 55 minutes long so about 10 minuters per part). Please I beg you to watch it.