April 27, 2006

SCHOOL SCENEin Almaden Valley

Children at war

Global Night Commute to aid Ugandan children scheduled for this Saturday

By Margo Consul
Leland High School Senior

Seeing a 5-year-old boy carry an automatic gun is not an everyday occurrence. But in Uganda, this is becoming a more common occurrence.

I first heard about this war in Uganda at a screening for the movie “Invisible Children,” on Monday at Leland High School. I met up with a team of college students trying to attack this problem in Uganda. Kate Kempt, a recent graduate of Colorado State University, briefed me on the history of the war in Uganda.

Uganda is in a civil war between its government and a rebel group called the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA is led by a man named Joseph Kony. He originally started this war to take over the Ugandan government, but the group is not even close to taking it over. This war has been going on for 17 years and there are about 300 to 2,000 people in the rebel group fighting for Kony. Kony has a powerful hold over his “followers” through religious ritual and fear.

To bolster their number of troops the rebel army is abducting children to do their fighting. There is waning support for their governmental takeover within the adult population, so they have been abducting children. These children are between the ages of 5 and 12. The LRA uses the fear of God and spirits, violence, and death as means of brainwashing the children. The fear of death and religious beliefs stop the children from escaping.

Children in Uganda that have not been abducted by the LRA, live in fear of the LRA. They know exactly what the LRA is and how they operate. The LRA strikes at night taking children while they are sleeping and taking them out into the “bush,” the uninhabited areas of the country. To avoid being captured by the LRA the children will commute from their villages to the nearest city to sleep at night and to feel safe. Most of these children walk for miles, and miles just to sleep.

Hannah Woodside is part of the California Team for Invisible Children Inc., and went to Uganda in January where she says she would sometimes “wake up to gunshots,” during her month long stay.

“When we first arrived the American Embassy told us to turn around because it wasn’t safe. But we went and commuted with the children,” states Woodside. She said that the children sleep on the ground, outside, without a roof over their heads and were surrounded by diseases such as typhoid, malaria and malnutrition.

Leland High School students have been moved by the video “Invisible Children.” Leland juniors Emma Noftz, Elena Santamaria, and Shaina Patel worked hard to get the national tour to come to Leland for the screening that was held on Monday. The girls have raised $1,050 for the Invisible Children Inc. They plan to raise more through the sale of bracelets, t-shirts and a carnival that will be happening at Leland later this week.

Thirty college age students on a national tour, trying to bring awareness to the Invisible Children cause.

“Invisible Children Inc. is dedicated to educating the children of Uganda as well as raising awareness on what the U.N. has deemed ‘the greatest emergency in the world today involving children.’” They hope to get the United States government’s attention by holding a national Global Night Commute on Saturday April 29, 2006, as a silent protest. This is an event where anyone can walk to a planned destination to mimic the commute the Ugandan children make daily. One of those destinations is San Jose State University.

This war is a complicated war. Complicated by religious beliefs, Kony’s intent and who is involved. But the children are the innocent victims. Woodside, Kempt and Bud are the California Team and want the support of this community and the state. If you would like to help out with this cause and/or participate in the Global Night Commute please visit the Web site www.invisiblechildren.com. The Global Night commute is Saturday, April 29 at San Jose State University on Tower Field. The event will start around 7 p.m. and there will be paid security.