24 March 2012
REFLECTION ON THE KONY 2012 PHENOMENON
It has been interesting to witness the phenomenal level of interest and debate generated by the 'Kony 2012' video in recent weeks.
It is somewhat bemusing that the activities of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) have been well known for over twenty years without attracting any of the media frenzy we are witnessing at present. It says something about the power of social media and skillful marketing strategies.
Whilst it is good that people are becoming more aware of the potential and power of advocacy and are motivated to do something to address injustice, and whilst the promotion of a campaign to bring Joseph Kony to account and protect the lives of children is a very laudable objective, given the geo-political complexities of the situation, one wonders what difference the campaign can actually make given the military operations that have already been underway for some time.
On the other hand, consider that in Africa, without treatment, nearly a third of HIV-positive infants die by their first birthday, half of all children born with HIV die before they are two years old and in 2009, 2.5 million children under 15 years were living with HIV.
In the face of this situation, the Caritas letter-writing campaign which Edmund Rice International continues to support has proved to be effective and has the potential to save the lives of millions of children.
It is to be hoped that those who have been moved to support the campaign to end the murderous activity of Joseph Kony and the LRA might also be motivated to take action on behalf of HIV-infected children.
It is somewhat bemusing that the activities of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) have been well known for over twenty years without attracting any of the media frenzy we are witnessing at present. It says something about the power of social media and skillful marketing strategies.
Whilst it is good that people are becoming more aware of the potential and power of advocacy and are motivated to do something to address injustice, and whilst the promotion of a campaign to bring Joseph Kony to account and protect the lives of children is a very laudable objective, given the geo-political complexities of the situation, one wonders what difference the campaign can actually make given the military operations that have already been underway for some time.
On the other hand, consider that in Africa, without treatment, nearly a third of HIV-positive infants die by their first birthday, half of all children born with HIV die before they are two years old and in 2009, 2.5 million children under 15 years were living with HIV.
In the face of this situation, the Caritas letter-writing campaign which Edmund Rice International continues to support has proved to be effective and has the potential to save the lives of millions of children.
It is to be hoped that those who have been moved to support the campaign to end the murderous activity of Joseph Kony and the LRA might also be motivated to take action on behalf of HIV-infected children.
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