Will Kony 2012 Help Anyone?

     What is being called the most viral video of all time, the short film "Kony 2012", produced by the nonprofit group Invisible Children, calls to bring justice to Ugandan militant Joseph Kony.  Kony is known for leading the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda and is notorious for abducting and brainwashing young children and turning them into murderous soldiers for his rebel army.  He is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, but has never been held accountable for these actions.  The campaign proposed by Invisible Children encourages groups like these found in Massachusetts in this article on telegram.com to flood the world with knowledge of Kony and the crimes he has committed by "covering the night in red" with flyers, posters, and any other means to spread the word of their mission.  Although their cause is intended to bring a homicidal abuser of children to justice, it is receiving very much criticism globally.  Many believe that the issues in Northern Uganda have been completely oversimplified.  The conflict has been going on there for nearly 30 years.  Another criticism that Invisible Children has received is that they have offered very little help to victims of this conflict and have only misrepresented these victims through their videos and speeches.  The most substantial argument against this movement is that they are asking for military action against the LRA which would bring even more violence to the region and would result in many deaths of kidnapped victims.  In this article on The Guardian's website, Victor Ochen, the founder and director of the African Youth Initiative Network, claims that "the people who have suffered at the hands of Kony don't want to promote him or make him famous.  They want to rebuild their lives."  He points out Invisible Children's ignorance to the conflict by asking "Why April 20th?  Don't they know or care that this is the anniversary of one of the worst LRA massacres, when over 300 people were killed at Atiak in 2005?"  One of the biggest eye-opening statements made by Ochen, whose brother was kidnapped in 2003 by the LRA, is "many of the LRA are our abducted family members-a military offensive will kill lots of innocent people."  Many other Ugandans agree with Ochen.  The website, ugandaspeaks.com, a site designed by local journalists, goes on to say that Kony's power has greatly declined and giving him this kind of global fame has only motivated him to do more harm.  The site has many testimonials that continue with the theme that Invisible Children has done nothing to help the Ugandan people and that Kony is the least of their problems.  The children of Northern Uganda face more serious issues like the nodding disease, poverty, and starvation.  When "Cover the Night" is over, will this trendy video have helped anyone in Uganda?  I seriously doubt it.  I enjoy seeing the vast technological improvements we have made in global communication, but this issue will not, and cannot be resolved by hanging up flyers in Worcester, MA.  This country has been war torn for far too long and is in desperate need of a complete overhaul.  This will not come overnight by talking about it, it will take many, many years of hard work.