MICHELLE JUERGEN | editor-in-chief
On Feb. 20, Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole premiered their newest Invisible Children film at CineSpace in Hollywood, Calif.
The three founders of the media-based non-profit organization, also known as IC, consider “The Rescue of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers” to be their most groundbreaking documentary.
“As humanity gets globalized, the capacity for us to do things for other people in the world increases,” Bailey said.
The trio first went to Africa in spring 2003 in search of a story and filmmaking adventure. After witnessing the tragic realities of northern Uganda’s night commuters and child soldiers, the three men from Southern California put together their first film, “Invisible Children: Rough Cut.” The film documents the young children who are used for fighting in government opposition groups.
“It was an adventure that turned into a passion of ours,” Bailey said.
“The Rescue of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers” investigates this conflict further, highlighting the current crisis in central east Africa and the urgency for international attention. The film also urges the peaceful return of the soldiers to their families and the arrest of Joseph Kony. The filmmakers focused specifically on Kony, the leader of the LRA, or Lord’s Resistance Army, and the carnage his group has caused.
The LRA rebel movement was started in the 1980’s by Alice Lakwena, a woman who believed God ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government. She and her followers began the Holy Spirit Movement in order to create justice for the Acholi people, a group of northern Ugandan and southernmost Sudan residents. When Lakwena was exiled, Joseph Kony took control of the group and transformed it into the LRA. His rebel force did not receive as much support because of the extreme tactics they used.
Due to diminishing support for their cause and heightened government offenses, they resorted to abducting children and indoctrinating them to become soldiers in their army. According to IC, it is estimated that 90 percent of the LRA’s soldiers were abducted as children.
The filmmakers focus on the story of a young man, Jacob, who was abducted at 12 years old, along with his brother, for the LRA. Jacob escaped, but not before seeing his brother killed with a machete. Kony has abducted 30,000 children, and he and his army have amplified their hostile tactics, mutilating people and children who try to escape.
On April 8, 2008, Kony agreed to come out of his hiding place in the Garamba Forest, in the Congo, to meet for a peace talk with the Ugandan government. The officials and the IC filmmakers waited for over five days, but Kony never showed. On Christmas Day 2008, 620 people were massacred by the LRA, and 160 children were abducted. The Congo has become the most violent place in the world today because of the LRA’s atrocities.
“How could Joseph Kony come and abduct my children?” a mother of a child abductee said in the film.
The filmmakers, along with staff and volunteers from IC have created the TRI campaign which allows supporters of IC’s efforts to donate money toward the advocacy, awareness and events that will lead to the rescue of Kony’s soldiers.
“After five years, we don’t have all the answers, but IC is committed to finding out those answers,” Poole said.
Invisible Children is currently planning an event called “The Rescue.” On April 25, the organization asks that advocates “abduct themselves,” asking governments and international bodies to rally for legislation that will support existing efforts to rescue the child soldiers and arrest Kony. In nine countries and 100 cities, supporters of IC will wear specified T-shirts and sleep outside of government buildings in one of the designated cities.
“We hope there is a huge ripple effect [from this film],” Russell said. “It’s not an Acholi problem or an African problem anymore. It’s a world problem.”
Visit www.invisiblechildren.com for more information about upcoming advocacy events.
