more international exposure than what one could imagine a few years back.One such cause making the ripples through the internet these days is the KONY 2012 campaign. Before we launch into the why’s and what's’; watch the video; nothing can be more explanatory than that. The video is definitely long; 30 minutes to be exact, but we promise you, this will be the best 30 minutes of your life.
So here a little bit of detailing of what this is all about and why it has become viral. The video was released by Invisible Children on March 5, 2012. The basic aim of the video is aid in the ultimate arrest of Joseph Kony by December 2012.
WHO IS KONY?
Joseph Kony, is the head of LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army), a Ugandan guerrilla group. Kony claims to be “God’s spokesperson” and has ordered the abduction of children to become sex slaves and child soldiers. Kony has been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands; but has evaded capture.
KONY 2012
The campaign launched by Invisible children gained popularity and the video has spread virally. The video has had great impact - over 86 million hits on Youtube and over 16 million hits on Vimeo. The intense exposure caused the website to crash temporarily. Also, gaining reputation the video has resulted in the United States Senate and a troop commitment by the African Union.
There has been a worldwide campaign scheduled on the 20th of April - something which is endorsed in India by leading actress Sonakshi Sinha.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE?
An estimated 66,000 children became soldiers and two million people have been internally displaced since 1986. The movement of Kony has not only affected the children but also thousands of civilians. The continuing crimes of Kony need to meet an end and this video just comes as a stark reminder of why we need to be getting up and taking action.
WHY YOU SHOULD HELP?
It is time we stopped sitting and complaining about how wrong the world is and what crimes are being committed; if we really want to see a change then we have to take action. We have to bring about the change we want to see in the world. And people like Kony should be bought to justice; for the thousands of children who have been wronged; for the families who have silently suffered all these years and for the fact that humanity is the bigger picture, always.
HOW YOU CAN HELP?
There are many ways in which you can help - go to the website (link to http://www.kony2012.com/) and sign the pledge or donate, or watch the video and share it, pass the word around. The website is the place to find more - you could tweet to some of the leading personalities and policy makers requesting them to voice the cause.
Start opening the doors to change - change for a better world. And this is just one way the world will unite for the cause.
