UN-COVER THE NIGHT

BEFORE YOU COVER THE NIGHT….

Please read this quote from a former LRA victim &director of African Youth Initiative Network, VICTOR OCHEN, explaining the offensive nature of your actions:

“ I speak as a victim, as someone whose brother was taken, and he has never come back, but I don’t want to play based on that, and I play—talk about myself. If I talk about myself alone, it loses the meaning.

So, a campaign like Cover the Night, the victims, when they saw the film, the most infuriating things was when they saw that make him famous. The first question: why do you want to make him famous? He is responsible for our suffering. The victims who are bleeding, without hands, without legs, without ears, nose, and saying, “If you really care about us, if you really understand what we feel, how we have suffered, you will respect our feeling. You will not put on the T-shirts that make Kony famous.” We don’t need even any publicity about Kony. The world knows about Kony. The United States government has been very instrumental in working with the government of Uganda in trying to end the Kony rebellion. And then, you go ahead to make the point that you move around the world to tell the world that Kony exists in there. The more the victim gets empowered, the more Kony become less relevant. And then, the victims are appealing, they’re saying, “Don’t do that. Don’t put on the T-shirt. Don’t put on the promotional material.” But Invisible Children remain completely adamant, and now, at this point, they care for the video more than they care for the people.”

Another Visible Child Soldier Speaks Out Against Kony2012

In a live chat, Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier and ‘A Long Way Gone’author had very critical things to say about the Invisible Children campaign, which is planning a ‘Cover the Night’ event Friday.- The Daily Beast

“Westerners should care, of course. The conflicts are not isolated incidents. They should try to make a long-lasting and sustainable impact by looking at some of the root causes of these conflicts.”

“The Kony videos, especially the first one, provide a very simplistic narrative about a complex situation, and offer a feel-good solution that, at the end of the day, does nothing on the ground.”

Uganda Speaks for Itself.

Al Jazeera’s project that allows Ugandans to text in their opinions of KONY2012. You can click on the red glowing circles to see the responses from Ugandans themselves.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/ugandaspeaks/

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QUOTES:

“What we indirectly get from this video is that Ugandans fit the one dimensional ‘African ’stereotype of poor, Helpless and dependent. It does not tell the entire story of what the people who are affected by this war went through. It does not look at the families affected by this war or what the mothers to these children have to say. It ignores the effort put in my Governments and individuals over the years to bring peace in that region. Then it emphasises an American solution in America being used to try and solve an African conflict in Africa without involving the people directly affected.” -Maureen Agena

“Some have castigated this criticism, stating that the IC’s primary objective was to make Kony famous and the rest is irrelevant. But the problem with attempting to initiate a global conversation based on inaccuracies is that you will likely spark the wrong conversation…Another issue a lot of Ugandans took with the film was that it suggested that whilst Kony is a Ugandan problem- America is the answer. This is absurd.”- K.K Mbabazi

“Celebrities and famous faces who might not even know where #Uganda is located are not the solution to our Country’s problems #Ugandaspeaks.”

“I am a visible child from Northern Uganda. Who are the “Invisible Children”?”

“As a Ugandan who until recently lived in Uganda I am appalled at Kony2012 video and hw it blatantly tries to manipulate pipo into caring by telling half truths. But more I wonder why now, why this sudden need to pay attention to a cause that has been largely ignored for decades?! Maybe the recently discovered oil perhaps or Invisible Children desperately trying to remain relevant? But this for me is a wake up call to Ugandans and Africans as a whole, a cautionary tale that if we don’t tell our story. Give a voice to our lives on this continent that others will and many times get it wrong because if either hidden agenda or blatant ignorance…”

“A total sham! Another government venture to scheme money in collaboration with invisible children. If Kony had been a real threat then government would have stamped him out like it does with the opposition.” - Rachel Nalubega

“Americans should back off our country and find elsewere were to put their brain games.When Uganda needed their hands,they showed us their backs and folded their hands and now 8 years after the end of the war and we are trying to heal and reconcile,they are scratching our healing wounds again and acting the savior in a crisis!!!NO NO NO,we are learned 21st centuary youths that will stand for our country and this documentary is all about OIL and the Americans are looking for how to penetrate our country and take over our wells.SINCE WHEN DID SOLJA BOY START MAKING CHARITY MUSIC????”

“How come the world now knows more about #Kony2012 than about the NODDING SYNDROME in Northern Uganda? #ugandaspeaks”

“Who ever is creating the hysteria dat Ugandan children are in danger of #Kony2012,they are telling lies, they are the dangers #UgandaSpeaks”

Uganda Speaks Out!

Al Jazeera’s awesome new project that allows Ugandans to text in their opinions of KONY2012. You can click on the red glowing circles to see the responses from Ugandans themselves.