 |
| People watching a screening of Kony 2012 in Lira, northern Uganda, an area which was ravaged by the LRA. Photograph: James Akena/Reuters |
It had been
viewed more than 77m times around the world, but not by those who know the
Joseph Kony best: his victims in northern Uganda.
That
changed on Tuesday night when thousands flocked to watch Kony 2012, the video
made by a US charity urging a grassroots campaign against the fugitive warlord
that has gone viral.
The film
was projected on to an ersatz cinema screen fashioned from a white sheet, held
up by metal poles, in a town park. The reaction? Puzzlement, then anger, which
boiled over into scuffles and stone-throwing that sent organisers fleeing for
cover.
There was
particular criticism of the Stop Kony campaign's use of merchandise, such as
bracelets and T-shirts, which victims said they find offensive.
"People
were very angry about the film," said Victor Ochieng, director of a local
charity, the African Youth Initiative Network (Ayinet), which arranged the
screening. "They were all saying, 'This is not about us, it does not
reflect our lives'."
Ochieng
said he had wanted to provide an opportunity for victims to see the film made
by the charity Invisible Children, mindful that less than 2% of Ugandans have
internet access.
The video,
posted on YouTube on 5 March and narrated by one of Invisible Children's
founders, Jason Russell, had drawn the support of celebrities including George
Clooney and Angelina Jolie, but provoked criticism for oversimplifying the
conflict and not making clear that Kony was driven out of Uganda several years
ago.
Before
sunset on Tuesday two metal rods were hammered into dry dirt and grass and a
white sheet hoisted to create an open-air cinema in the mayor's gardens in the
centre of Lira, 220 miles north of the capital, Kampala.
Word about
the "premiere" spread on local radio, drawing a crowd on foot and
bicycle that grew over several hours and was estimated at more than 35,000 by
Ochieng, though others put it at more like 5,000.
The
expectant, excited spectators, many of whom cannot speak English, included
victims who have been left scarred and maimed by Kony's atrocities.
But
Ochieng, whose own father and brother were abducted by Kony's Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA), said on Wednesday: "Reacting to the film, there was a strong sense
that the video was definitely not produced for an African audience, and that it
was not sensitive enough to the victims.
"It
was very hurtful for them and their families to see posters, bracelets and
buttons, all looking like slick campaign ads of the person most responsible for
their shattered lives. One young man who lost four brothers and one of his arms
said afterwards: 'How can anybody expect me to wear a T-shirt with Kony's name
on it?'"
He added:
"For all the victims, the attempt to make Kony famous so as to prop up
public support for his apprehension is laudable but the way this goal is
pursued in the video is inappropriate and ignores their feelings.
"That
fame is not what Kony deserves for causing so much suffering was one
overwhelming reaction. People were asking: Why give such criminals celebrity
status? Why not prioritise addressing the plight of the victims whose
sufferings are visible?"
The
screening ended amid jeers and scuffles, with some angry viewers throwing
stones. Ayinet has decided to suspend planning screenings of Kony 2012 in other
parts of northern Uganda indefinitely due to the hostile reaction.
Emmy
Okello, a radio journalist in Lira, said: "I cannot understand the
intention of this video. It is difficult to account to us if you are not
including local people. What has angered people is that the video is about a
white person, not about the victims. All of them came here hoping to see video
that tells their story."
Okello
Jifony, who was forced to fight under Kony for 18 months, told Reuters:
"We expected serious action, Americans fighting Kony like in a real
movie."
He added:
"Why didn't they use the real victims in this film?"
On
Wednesday there were calls in Uganda to ban the campaign's "Stop
Kony" T-shirts from entering the country. One caller to a radio phone-in
said: "The government must protect us victims not only from Kony but also
from things that hurt us like these T-shirts.
"And
as people of northern Uganda we will not accept anyone to cross Karuma (a
bridge across the Nile that connects north to central Uganda) with that
T-shirt."
Al-Jazeera
reporter Malcolm Webb blogged: "One woman I spoke to made the comparison
of selling Osama Bin Laden paraphernalia post 9/11 – likely to be highly
offensive to many Americans, how ever well intentioned the campaign behind
it."
Kony, a
self-proclaimed mystic, is wanted by the international criminal court for
crimes against humanity.
On Tuesday
a Congolese general said Kony and other LRA leaders have been chased out of the
Democratic Republic of Congo to the neighbouring Central African Republic and
no longer pose a threat in his country.
General
Jean Claude Kifwa, in charge of fighting the LRA in Congo, told journalists:
"We have reduced the capacity of the LRA. For us it's no longer an issue
of defence. It's a public order issue."
The comment
follows a complaint by nearby Uganda that Congo was obstructing its US-backed
hunt for Kony.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.