A recent global phenomenon called “KONY 2012” has been circling the internet this past week and I think it deserves much more research and context. The international campaign is an attempt to raise awareness of a man named Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), who has been fighting in Sub-Saharan Africa for over two decades. If you are reading this blog you probably know the details of the KONY 2012 video so I won’t get into them. I believe, as many others are suggesting, that this conflict needs to be presented in a much broader context. I am fully aware that this blog will not contain all the aspects necessary to understand the situation but I believe it will help to open new avenues of research in which we can better understand the situation.
A Ugandan journalist named Rosebell Kagumire said this of the campaign to make Kony “famous”:
“We need sound intelligent campaigns that are geared toward real policy shifts rather than an adverse sensationalized story that is out to make just one person cry and at the end of the day we forget about it. I think it’s all about trying to make a difference but how you tell the story of African’s is much more important than what the story is. If you are showing me as voiceless and hopeless, if you don’t believe I have the power to change what is going on [then] you have no space telling my story.”
The film seems to suggest that the power to change the situation lies in America and that it does not lie in the hands of the people of Uganda and the local and state governments. It is a continuance of an image of Africans as being totally unable to help themselves. It continues a narrative of Africa as being a place of conflict and the people are “so hopeless” that America “can help.” Kagumire goes on to say that “the war is much more complex than just one man.” It is largely about “resources and the marginalization of people in Northern Uganda.”
With all that being said, I think it is imperative to say that I believe there is a lot of good that can come from this heightened awareness. The KONY campaign will bring to light real-life situations that we have been so disconnected from, situations that we do not clearly understand. Even writing this, I am aware of the limitations of my knowledge of the situation. But what I believe is the best outcome of KONY 2012 is that it will inspire people to learn, to try to understand what is happening in the world. Joseph Kony has committed so many crimes and he should be brought to justice for his crimes but he is not the only one. And maybe the KONY campaign can be the catalyst into a new era where government officials, militant leaders, and corrupt politicians are held to account for the things they do. So I want to state right now that I truly support the movement and this blog is not a denouncement of its message, it is just a deeper investigation of the problem then presented in the video.
There has been a lot of investigation into the non-profit organization that made this film, Invisible Children. The organization got its name when it created the video “Invisible Children” in 2006. One fellow blogger said that “it felt uncomfortable that they commercialized poverty to sell wristbands and t-shirts. It seemed strange to send culturally ignorant people with cameras out to invade the lives of struggling people in the name of ‘helping’ them.” I can somewhat understand this bloggers point but I think that the organization has good intentions. Maybe they don’t have the requisite knowledge to understand how to approach the problem but I do believe it is being done in good faith.
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But the same old story of a bad dude against the “good-guys” of the West, who have to try to save the people is not the best approach. It is imperative that we understand that this story cannot be told in such simple terms. One example that I think needs to be presented is that Invisible Children’s Director of Communications has said that the organization is working with the Ugandan Army and Sudan’s People’s Liberation Army. These military entities are responsible for the same crimes that Kony is being accused of and the participation with the army is evidence that Invisible Children don’t really understand the situation too well.
The other big accusation made against Invisible Children has to deal with their finances. The Better Business Bureau is considering indicting the organization because it won’t allow for an audit of its finances which to some screams foul-play. A report was released that showed the Invisible Children only spends 31% of its funds on direct aid, while the rest of the money goes to supporting the other military's , on merchandise, advertisement and production. Charity Watchdogs, an organization that rates non-profit work, gave Invisible Children a 2-star rating. Invisible Children released a document containing its expenses but the validity of the report is in question.
The situation that was presented in the video does not seem to be an accurate depiction of the LRA presence and atrocious acts in Uganda today. There have been multiple reports that suggest the LRA is not operating in Uganda, but they are in the DRC, the Central African Republic, and south Sudan. The situation presented in the video is that of 5 or 6 years ago and Joseph Kony is in hiding somewhere in the DRC. Ugandan journalists say that the “situation has tremendously improved.” Michael Wilkerson, an Oxford PhD candidate who has been living in Uganda said that “Joseph Kony is not in Uganda and hasn’t been for 6 years” and that the “LRA now numbers at most in the hundreds.” Wilkerson goes on to explain the situation:
“Following a successful campaign by the Ugandan military and failed peace talks in 2006, the LRA was pushed out of Uganda and has been operating in extremely remote areas of the DRC, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic – where Kony himself is believed to be now. The Uganda military has been pursuing the LRA since then but had little success… Additionally, the LRA does not have 30,000 mindless child soldiers. This grim figure, cited by Invisible Children in the film refers to the total number of kids abducted by the LRA over nearly 30 years.”
So what are the people of Uganda saying in response to the video? There are definitely some people who are encouraged by it but there seems to be a common theme, that we don’t understand the situation well enough.
“The major problem with the video is that it simplifies the story… There have been local initiatives to end this war… The video plays on the idea that the reason this war has been going on is because the people of the Western world are ignorant. The video is another story of a hero trying to rescue African children but it does not help end the problem.”
- Rosebell Kagumire, Ugandan journalist
“What the video says is totally wrong, and it can cause more problems than help us. There has not been a single soul from the LRA here since 2006. Now we have peace, people are back in their homes, they are planting their fields, they are starting their businesses. That is what people should help us with.”
- Dr. Beatrice Mpora, director of Kairos, a community health organization in Gulu
“To call this campaign a misrepresentation is an understatement. While it draws attention to the fact that Kony, indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in 2005, is still on the loose, its portrayal of his alleged crimes in Northern Uganda are from a bygone era… Today most of these children are semi-adults. Many are still on the streets unemployed. Gulu has the highest number of child prostitutes in Uganda.”
- Angelo Izama, Ugandan journalist
“Suggesting that the answer is more military action is just wrong. Have they thought of the consequences? Making Kony “famous” could make him stronger. Arguing for more US troops could make him scared, and make him abduct more children, or go on the offensive.”
- Javie Ssozi, Ugandan blogger
“In their campaigns, such organizations have manipulated facts for strategic purposes, exaggerating the scale of LRA abductions, murders and emphasizing the LRA’s use of innocent children as soldiers, portraying Kony – a brutal man, to be sure – as uniquely awful, a Kurtz-like embodiment of evil. They rarely refer to the Ugandan atrocities of those of Sudan’s People’s Liberation Army, such as attacks against civilians or looting of civilian homes and businesses, or the complicated regional politics fueling the conflict.”
- The Council on Foreign Affairs official statement
There are many other things that need to be taken into account when assessing any situation than just the acts of one man. And to proclaim that the “morally superior” US is going to come in and fix the situation is just ludicrous. The reality is that the governments of the DRC, Uganda, Sudan, and the Central African Republic will have to bring the war to an end. Kagumire goes on to say that Ugandans need “ much more efforts to reconcile communities, solving this war is about preserving the region, making sure communities do not go back to rebellion, making sure you stop a rebellion before it starts.”
It is critical to examine the history of US “humanitarian” intervention. I can’t get into it now but I fail when I try to find a situation that the US has actually helped by intervening militarily. The involvement of American military forces needs to be opposed if you are trying to stop a war and make sure another rebellion does not happen. US tactics have been to foment revolt not to stop it. President Barack Obama said that “although the US forces are combat-equipped, they will only be providing information, advice, and assistance,” which sounds a lot like training and supplying. Michael Wilkerson says that “one of the biggest issues with a simplistic “Stop Kony” message is that discussions of Navy Seals and drone strikes are inevitable when patience runs out with Ugandan-led efforts. But what about the dozens or hundreds of abducted and brain-washed kids? Should we bomb [the kids too]? Will they actually stop fighting after Kony is gone? What if they shoot back?” These are very important things to ask when considering intervention.
This sort of “White Savior” ideology – as it is being called by some Ugandans – can only make the problems worse. Whether you militarily indoctrinate the Ugandan army or you drop bombs on “strategic targets” to stir Kony out, there are grave consequences. And the effects are felt by the innocent population. You either create a more brutal, more technologically advanced, repressive military state or you bomb an unknown number of civilians. Both approaches have been failures in the past and would be in this situation. And I believe that neither is what the people of Uganda want.
Another very important aspect of this is that of the atrocities (which I have mentioned) by the Ugandan military. In Late 2009, a protest in the capital Kampala was violently repressed by the Ugandan military. 27 people were killed and 894 were arrested in 2 days. Tanks and military personnel roam the streets, well-armed with Western weapons, violently repressing dissent. Most of the weapons to the Ugandan military come from the US as well as from the UK and the Netherlands. Providing weapons to a brutal military only works to destabilize a region and ensure that the conflict continues. We should definitely think twice before advocating US military assistance to the Ugandan military because it has been so repressive. The same year, the Ugandan military cracked down on the press. 20 journalists were arrested and tortured by military police and 4 radio stations were shut down. (here's a video)
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) has two bases in Uganda which claim to be promoting “regional stability.” If history is any indicator then we should note that US military bases have been in place for one very specific reason – to protect US economic interests. In Uganda there are significant oil and natural gas resources. Emira Woods, Co-Director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies said, that “oil has become an addiction” for US leaders. “Uganda has oil which changes the calculus always with US foreign policy when it’s a country proven to be rich in oil,” she said. Mark Kersten from Justice in Conflict says Uganda’s recently-discovered oil reserves, which "may produce between 2.5 billion to 6 billion barrels of oil... has been directly linked to the country's security." It is critical to not forget how the world works, and how the capitalistic and neo-liberal principles of Washington have been forced on the rest of the world. Let’s take a look at the case of the Ugandan government against an international oil corporation that is going on right now.
At the International Court of Arbitration in London, the court is getting ready to rule in favor of Heritage Oil. Heritage Oil and Gas (based in London) “is contesting the government ‘s claim to stakes on $1.45 billion, being the proceeds of the transfer of its interests in Ugandan oil fields to Tullow, another London-based oil corporation. Uganda is owed $900 million in capital-gains from the transaction made between Heritage and Tullow, but they refuse to pay. If the court rules in favor of the oil companies, it could “set a precedent that could apply to any Production Sharing Agreement without a specific provision for tax on transfer of interests entered into with other oil prospectors.” The article goes on to say that “in retrospect, Tullow’s actions – paying Heritage the lump sum and offering to compensate Uganda – are now being interpreted as connivance in a wider scheme to deny Uganda money it was losing because of negligence on the part of the negotiators.” The Australian firm Hardman Resources, did the same thing to Uganda when it sold it to Tullow in the early 2000s. The companies are arguing that they are not held to the laws of Uganda. This is an example of how Western corporations are exploiting the resources of Uganda. I think it is imperative to make a note of this to understand the situation. The country is owed a large amount of money that could be used for education, health care, rehabilitation of children etc. And if we are truly for the cause of helping the people of Uganda then we must fight the exploitation of its resources and people. And the rights of all the exploited people of the world.
The final piece that I would like to get into is the role that the large economic institutions are playing in this conflict. If the US decides to take action it will be another example of “humanitarian” propaganda putting a veil over the true causes of conflict. As I cited earlier, the conflict in Uganda is partly about resources. With access to resources comes wealth, and with wealth comes “development”, as defined by the West. In order for the US to truly be committed to helping the conflict in Uganda, it must be committed to reversing the policies of international institutions like the World Bank.
In February of 2010, the Government of Uganda finalized a new five-year (FY 2011-2015) National Development Plan with the US-backed World Bank. Essentially, this entails huge loans being given to the government in order to foster “development.” This plan replaces the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (they always have such nice names), started in 1997, then renewed in 2000 and 2004. These efforts were mostly ineffective. Poverty in Uganda today stands at 37.7%, which is down, but does not take inflation into account. The UN requirement for poverty has stayed constant, but the value of currencies is dropping. Anyways, the Bank has provided Uganda with just over $7 billion dollars. $6.4 billion in loans and $600 million in grants. The loans have to be paid back but what do these loans look like?
Since 1996, the World Bank has granted Uganda 16 different loans to fund oil and natural gas infrastructure. That is, the Bank has loaned the Uganda government huge amounts of money to build infrastructure so that foreign corporations can come in and extract oil and natural gas for the companies benefit. The people left with the bill are the people of Uganda. Making an average of $544 dollars a year, Ugandans are essentially paying the World Bank to ensure that US and other foreign companies have access to Ugandan oil. Don’t we think that this money should stay in Uganda, and if we are truly committed to “development”, shouldn't we encourage that the wealth stay in Uganda? In contrast, the Bank has given 2 loans for education and 2 loans for health care. The Bank has also given Uganda 8 separate loans for improving transportation (including roads and railways), intended to help oil companies transport the resources they have extracted.
In July 2011, an IDA guarantee for the Private Power Generation Project (another fancy name for exploitation) committed a total of $2 billion in additional loans. In total, the Bank has loaned Uganda $6.4 billion, Ugandans have paid back over $3.5 billion, but because of interest they still owe $5.4 billion. All of these loans were given to develop then open up the country to foreign investment. The Bank says its “analytical and advisory activities underpin investment operations and sector strategies, and inform the government’s reform path.” More like dictate it’s path. The Bank encourages “fiscal decentralization” and “foreign investments.”
The above mentioned five-year plan lays out its goals on the World Bank website. It states that its goals include “improved conditions for private sector growth”, “increase productivity and commercialization of agriculture,” “increased efficiency of natural resource management”, and “improved access to and quality of roads”. The International Finance Corporation of the World Bank states that in 2011 it is “focusing on financial market and infrastructure development, supporting the privatization program.” It goes on to say the “initiative that supports enhanced access to finance, business development services and improving the investment climate.” Operations in the next few years will “include heightened focus on agribusiness, finance sector development, infrastructure (including railways) and electricity companies.” The World Bank has set the country up for exploitation by foreign companies. This is what the people of the world need to be fighting to end.
Umeme Ltd has “leased the electricity distribution grid in Uganda” and was “awarded a 20-year electricity distribution concession to manage and operate” Ugandan energy distribution. This was awarded in 2005. Come to find out that Umeme Ltd is owned by Actis, a multinational corporation with partners from the US, UK, India, South Africa, Brazil and Singapore.
Finance minister Oduman Okello says that “in Uganda, the minds of politicians go to sleep with borrowing… The politicians have ceased to think. Policies are going wrong and not well thought-out. The person to suffer is the voter and our future generations will continue to bear the burden of repaying these loans.” He continues that “the debt increase is a result of borrowing to finance infrastructure projects required to enhance productivity in the country.” That is, Uganda pays for the infrastructure so that foreign corporations don’t have to foot the bill in order to be able to exploit the country’s resources. The debts have caused financial hardship, joblessness, and a decline in personal earnings. Food prices, energy and fuel prices and other utilities have all gone up despite all the money paid by the people to ensure that it goes down.
I believe it is critical to educate yourself about the situation, and for that matter, the situations going on in the world today. War crimes and financial strangulation happen every single day. It shouldn’t have to take a video to raise awareness. We live in the internet era, all the information is at our disposal but it is all about what we do with that access. In the words of a random who posted a video in response to KONY 2012 on YouTube, “remember these situations are happening [everywhere] … hunger, homelessness, sex-slaves, violence, bullying, corruption, crime, drugs, torture, lack of education, poverty and hate crimes and these also need to be addressed.” Since the dialogue is open, let’s not just focus on a single man, let’s focus on a global movement. Let’s not stop in Uganda, let’s make a move for true democracy, where the people decide what is important, not the politicians and bankers.
Thanks for reading. I really appreciate comments if you have any input. Remember to become a member. Out.
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