Displace Me!

On April 28, 2007 Invisible Children, a non profit organization that focuses on the atrocities in Uganda is holding an event dubbed, "Displace Me!". (For Florida residents the event will be held this Saturday at the University of Central Florida) If you don't know about the trouble happening in Uganda that is probably because it hasn't received as much "pub" as Darfur or other crisis regions. This is a brief run down:

Children are being abducted and forced into a militant militia for the LRA (The Lord's Resistance Army), the idea behind it being that they can brainwash these children and turn them into killing machines. Meanwhile they trust that others still have the conscience not to kill them because they are children, despite their training in warfare. It is a very big problem. So rather than stay in their home villages children are displaced into safe zones where they can be protected. They often sleep in bus stations and areas where they are placed side by side with no room. Note that these children are not in a mass grave, they are simply sleeping in the aforementioned conditions.

It seems the primary focus of starting Invisible Children was to inform people about an unpublicized tragedy in Uganda. Mission accomplished. In their first campaign, called "Global Night Commute" Invisible Children engaged 80,000 participants (April 28, 2006) to walk through city streets and sleep out in the road. The Baylor Lariat posted the predicted numbers for participants at "more than 40,000". Many people did not anticipate such success.

The Displace Me! campaign expects to attract even more people than its predecessors as the word spreads about the Ugandan conflict between those involved with the LRA and those part of the current government and the children and adults that suffer as bystanders. The aim of the campaign and the program are as follows,

"To experience this event at its full potential, you will be asked to give up your food and water upon entry. Both will be redistributed later in the evening. Displace Me's simulation aspects, such as the redistribution of food, exist to enhance the overall event experience, as well as your understanding of what life is like for those living in the IDP camps. We encourage you not to bring other food or drink besides the saltine crackers and water bottles if possible.
During the evening you will hear the testimonials of some of those living in the camps, as well as other speakers chosen specifically for their personal connection to Northern Uganda. You will be asked to write letters to your senators and policy makers to encourage American involvement in ending the war and sending the people in the camps home.
The intent of the night is to encourage genuine compassion in the hearts of the participants towards the 1.5 million displaced and to positively impact US foreign policy in relation to Northern Uganda's peace process." (Quotation from Official Displace Me! event page)

Previously, I mentioned that the primary objective of Invisible Children was to inform people around the world about a little known monstrosity in Uganda. At the very end of their explanation of the Displace Me! event they mention that they want to "positively impact US foreign policy in relation to Northern Uganda's peace process." For a better picture of the Ugandan conflict and a bit of its history click on the link to a Yale Herald article titled, 'Invisible children' go unseen in global politics. It's an interview with Yale political science professor and law school lecturer, David Simon. http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=4836

So now that we're informed what do we do? How exactly do we help the peace process? (I think the reason that this question plagues so many people is because deep down we know that it is worse to be informed and do nothing than it is to be completely ignorant to a problem.) Do we write letters? Donate money? What kind of push can we make to aid the cause? In some later articles we will be discussing the non profit aspects of Invisible Children Inc. as well as some of the marketing and success of the organization. Apart from our blog, if you're interested in what's going on you may be able to attend Displace Me! or see the Invisible Children video podcasts. We also watched a tremendous documentary at the Wesley Foundation a couple of months ago that Geldof did for the BBC about night commuters in Africa. It's very well done. The more I know the more I realize how absolutely wretched it is to stand by. So as much as I'm reporting, I'm also going to do a little searching about what exactly I can do. This is important. If you have any comments about what you are currently doing or about what might be done leave a note.