Through the eyes of invisible children
It’s 2003. Three adventure-seeking Americans in their 20s crouch low underneath a door frame so short that it would hardly permit Yoda to enter.
But that is a comparison we would only know for certain if Yoda had, like the young men, been in Uganda at the time, looking for good movie material.
Once inside, Laren Poole, Jason Russell and Bobby Bailey listen to the story of three native boys with thick accents. The boys tell of their fear of going to sleep for yet another night. When pressed for a reason why, Tony, one of the boys, reluctantly explains how a local organization called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) seeks to steal children during the night to forcibly enlist them in an army comprised of anywhere from 300 to 500 child soldiers.
A look into the TSC Auditorium between 8 and 9 p.m. March 2 would have shown these scenes up close and personal, when students had the opportunity to see the film “Tony,” a production meant to reveal the harsh and true realities of tyrannical oppression in an eastern region of Africa.
The film was a product of Invisible Children, an organization that began in 2005, just two years after Poole, Russell and Bailey learned of the crisis in Uganda.
Combating such oppression is a cause that Invisible Children members such as Saith Riley said they have felt “blessed” to be a part of.
“Just getting involved is a great blessing to see and hear all the efforts of individuals around the world,” said Riley, Invisible Children main office manager.
As is the case with all members of Invisible Children, Riley initially joined the crew as a “Roadie,” without pay, as standard.
“Roadies” are among the minority of applicants chosen to represent the organization by traveling across the country to present the film and the harsh realities to colleges and high schools.
Riley joined when she was swept by a wave of compassion for the east African people after viewing an earlier production of Invisible Children called “Rough Tide” at Kennesaw State University in Georgia in 2006.
“I was incredibly touched by it,” she said. “I cried a lot. From that point forward, I had to take action.”
Angwech Collines, member of Invisible Children and spokesperson at the event, has experienced the very things the film portrayed. Collines said years ago she lost her sister when her cousin, who had been reclaimed from the child soldier coalition but thrust back into society without any rehabilitation training, fired at Collines’ sister after having a joke said against her.
Such are the mindsets in Kony`s depersonalizing, robotic program. It was a system that Collines, who is now 21 and attends college in Uganda, hardly wanted to be a part of.
“During that time I lived in so much in fear of being abducted, knowing how much they killed,” said Collines after the film ended at the TSC. “It was so hard. We slept on the streets, in the jungle, in refugee camps. It has been so different to go to school now.”
Following the film, in conjunction with Kony closing in on 25 years of having created and led the LRA, Invisible Children invited USU students to pay a minimum of $25 per month to support the cause, as they do following every film showing across the country.
Students were also invited to pay $25 to purchase a campaign box, including a t-shirt, dog tag and small cards that explain why those taking part are wearing the same shirt and not speaking that day. All contributors are encouraged to go silent for 25 hours on April 25, rather than be vocal about the issues. Boxes can be purchased online at www.invisiblechildren.com.
The pro-activity, an effort that Roadie Tracy Spohn said can take up to 13 office hours per day, with tours twice per week, is an attribute that she said attracted her to the organization when she first saw one of its films as a freshman in Seattle in 2006.
“A lot of this is about integrity and relentlessness,” she said. “The whole goal of Invisible children is to stop a war in east Africa. We will not stop until we do it.”
Their persistence and plea were felt by the members of the USU audience, which Aggies for Africa Director Erika Norton said with an estimated count of 200 attendees, far outnumbered the expected count by dozens.
“It was empowering and really awesome to see that those three guys have made such an impact,” said Amy Flanders, a junior in speech communications.
It’s a plan that junior Amy Nguyen said left her feeling motivated to serve others.
“I know that I have been empowered and I want to help change lives,” she said. “I wish more people would know about it and come help end some of these stories.”
– rhett.wilkinson@aggiemail.usu.edu