While thousands of Ugandan women and children experience a mass genocide, members of Invisible Children are working with young adults to combat it by creating and showing documentaries chronicling the injustice in Africa.
“The Congo Tour,” Invisible Children’s effort to raise awareness of the thousands of people who are abducted, murdered and displaced in Africa annually, showed a free screening of their documentary “Tony” in the Cronkite Theater on Thursday.
The film, a harrowing account of one boy’s experience growing up in Uganda, was shown to a solemn group of patrons on Thursday evening.
The organization originated with three young filmmakers who traveled to Africa in 2003 to create a documentary for social change in Uganda.
The group’s first film, “Invisible Children: Rough Cut,” documented the lives of northern Ugandan night commuters and child soldiers.
From this trip, the three boys from Southern California became emotionally connected with the tragedy, establishing and advocating on behalf of the Ugandans through Invisible Children.
Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole, the founders of Invisible Children, met the subject of “Tony” when he was a young boy and quickly became friends.
The film documents Tony’s life from childhood to adulthood. As a night commuter, he traveled into the city to sleep wherever possible in order to avoid being abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a guerilla group known for abducting thousands of Ugandan children and forcing them to serve as soldiers.
Tony experienced several other harsh realities in Uganda. When he was a young boy, he lost his mother to AIDS, a disease that takes the lives of thousands of African men and women every year.
Tony survived these circumstances and joined the forces of Invisible Children as part of the “roadies,” volunteers who show documentaries to raise awareness of the devastation that is occurring in Africa.
Natalie Semotiuk, a seasoned roadie, believes that though her voice may be small, it is her one weapon in the war against genocide in Africa.
Semotiuk explained that even though the LRA isn’t terrorizing Uganda anymore, the urgency to help other areas of Africa is still crucial to Invisible Children’s cause.
“The most powerful thing you have is your voice,” Semotiuk said. “What does silence really sound like when the people of Congo can’t even cry out for help?”
Agnes Achola, a roadie from Uganda, mentors African children through the organization’s Legacy Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to hundreds of children in Uganda.
The scholarship program provides assistance to over 700 students from Gulu, Amuru, and Pader districts.
Achola lost her two sisters to the LRA in 1993 when the terrorist group attacked her town in Uganda.
“When I see Uganda, I see peace,” Achola said. “The rebel groups have moved to Congo. Some of them feel like if they don’t see blood, they don’t feel happy.”
The organization has begun combating the spread of genocide to the Congo by establishing the Invisible Children Protection Plan, a movement focused on increasing communication and rehabilitation.
The Protection Plan works to set up radios throughout Congo, so warning signals can be sent to its inhabitants. These warning signals alert the people of the location of the LRA, preparing them for possible attacks.
Child soldiers will commonly get lost after escaping the tight grip of the LRA. The plan also includes a rescue team that finds lost children soldiers who are in search of their homes.
The Protection Plan also includes a rehabilitation center that provides counseling to these children before they return home.
Journalism senior Josh Frigerio hosted the event.
“It starts off small and it starts with an individual,” Frigerio said. “It’s a process of getting that social change.”
Invisible Children is furthering its efforts by hosting Speak Without Speaking, an event that asks its participants to remain silent for 25 hours to recognize the 25 years of social intolerance experienced by South Africans.
The event will take place April 25 in Phoenix, one of 17 cities that the event will visit.
For freshman journalism student Gabrielle Castillo, education is the best resource for those who are advocates of Invisible Children.
“I think there’s a lot that people don’t know that they should know,” said Castillo. “Everyone needs to be educated.”
Contact the reporter at apsmith5@asu.edu
