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The following lessons are suggestions to do with your classes to help prepare and get the most out of the assembly presented by the Legacy team. In the spring of 2003, three filmmakers (Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole) traveled to Africa in search of a story. They produced a documentary that tells the tragedy that revolves around Africa's longest running war, where children have become the victims and the weapons. Rebel armies, known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), have been abducting children and using them as troops while they wage war against the Ugandan government. This originally caused the children to night commute, or walk miles nightly to avoid these troops. It is estimated that 90% of the LRA is abducted children. The film tells their story.
REFLECTION/PRE-ASSEMBLY PREPARATION PLANS Instructions: 1. Students should first review Appendix 1: Uganda Fact Sheet 2. Students should read and/or watch the short news clips:
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/022010/02232010/529274/index_html
The Salem State Log:
Invisible Children
Aims to Make Child Soldiers of Uganda Visible Through
Documentaries, Rallies http://www.metacafe.com/watch/708803/displace_me_war_in_uganda/ Watch -
Displace Me: War in Uganda 3. Divide students into groups of 3-5. Students should discuss and generate a list of important facts regarding the war, Kony, and the invisible children based on the articles and film clips.
BRIEF OVERVIEW:
The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi Amin (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri Musevini since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. In January 2009, Uganda assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-10 term. Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces that extend across its borders; Uganda hosts 209,860 Sudanese, 27,560 Congolese, and 19,710 Rwandan refugees, while Ugandan refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seek shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Garamba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border.
FACTS[2]: • Population: • Urban Population: • Capital: Kampala • Area: 241,038 km (slightly smaller than Oregon)
• Major
languages:
• Major
Ethnic and Linguistic Groups: • Major religion(s): • IDP % (internally displaced persons): • Life expectancy: 52 years • Population Growth Rate: • Infant Mortality: • Percentage of Literacy: • Population Below Poverty Line:
Lesson II: Read the following article and write a reaction to the current situation in Northern Uganda given the hopeful measures that have been taken by the Ugandan government and the LRA until very recently.UGANDA TODAYSince Invisible Children: Rough Cut was filmed in 2003, night commuting has ended for the children of northern Uganda. In recent years peace was seemingly within reach, largely due to the Juba Peace Talks. From June 2006 to March 2008 in Juba, Sudan, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda (GoU) engaged in a series of peace talks in order to end the conflict. These peace talks, supported by special envoys from the United States and other nations, allowed for the longest period of peace in northern Uganda’s 23-year war. The Juba Peace Talks developed with hope for a lasting resolution, and concluded in March of 2008 with the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) ready for the signature of Joseph Kony and President Museveni. However, in April of 2008, Kony twice failed to appear and sign the FPA and officially ended the Juba talks mediated by the Southern Sudanese government. Joseph Kony’s stated reasons for not signing the FPA were a vague understanding of the treaty’s systems regarding post-conflict justice and an apprehension toward ICC warrants for him and four other LRA leaders. Since the collapse of the peace talks, the LRA has been active in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR) and southern Sudan, drawing widespread disapproval from the international community and igniting a new urgency to end what has become a complex regional conflict. In the last two years, an estimated 900,000 of the 1.8 million displaced have returned to their homes. But that leaves one million people currently living in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. While the majority desires to return home, the issues surrounding their return are complex. Some have been displaced for more than a decade, and their former way of life is all but gone. Access to clean water, economic opportunities, health centers, and education are a pressing concern for all, and even more so for the many who contemplate returning to resource-barren villages. A HISTORY OF AFRICA’S LONGEST RUNNING WARThe war in northern Uganda has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today. For the past 23 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda (GoU) have been waging a war that has left nearly two million innocent civilians caught in the middle. The GoU's attempt to protect its citizens from this rebel militia has largely failed, resulting in an entire generation of youth that has never known peace. The LRA rebel movement can be traced back to a woman named Alice Lakwena. In the 1980s, Lakwena believed the Holy Spirit spoke to her and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unjust to the Acholi. Lakwena and her followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement, gained momentum as resentment toward the government increased. When Lakwena was exiled and no clear leader of the movement was left, Joseph Kony, who claimed to be Lakwena’s cousin, took control and transformed Lakwena’s rebel army into the LRA. Kony's LRA did not receive the same support as the Holy Spirit Movement from the Acholi people. With dwindling approval for their cause and heightened government offensives, the rebels resorted to abducting children and indoctrinating them into their ranks. It is estimated that more than 90% of the LRA’s troops were abducted as children. In 1996, as a response to the LRA attacks in the villages, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes, relocating them into overcrowded camps in hopes of providing protection. But over a decade later, roughly one million individuals still live in these camps and struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation. In recent years more and more international attention has been focused on this crisis. In 2001, the US Patriot Act officially declared the LRA to be a terrorist organization - a huge step in drawing attention to the conflict and the atrocities committed by the LRA. In 2004, Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the first piece of American legislation to address this disaster. And in 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders. Pressure from the international community (particularly from EU and Canada) combined with a strong desire to secure peace has brought the Government of Uganda and the LRA to the negotiating table on numerous occasions, though they have yet to find a peaceful resolution. The most recent talks commenced in Juba, Sudan in July 2006, and a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was signed the following month. In July 2007, in response to an increased concern for peace in northern Uganda by the American people, the US State Department appointed Tim Shortley to Senior Advisor for Conflict Resolution with his immediate focus on northern Uganda. This action solidified the US’s commitment to end this conflict peacefully. That same year, the United Kingdom bolstered their commitment to peace by allocating £70 million in aid, while Germany committed to a 25% increase in aid to Uganda by October 2010. Canada later became more than an international supporter of the peace process in February 2008 by joining the peace talks as an official observer (though the Canadian officer on the ground has since been removed from the region). At this point in time, the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement has expired and Joseph Kony has failed to sign the Final Peace Agreement for a fourth time, proving his promises to be futile and ultimately disabling the peace talks. Uncertainty lingers, not only for the thousands displaced in northern Uganda but across the entire northeastern border region of DR Congo, South Sudan, and Central African Republic. Since September 2008, hostility in the Orientale province in DR Congo and Western Equatoria in South Sudan has reached a feverish pitch. LRA attacks have become more frequent and hostile, provoking military action against the rebel group. In an unprecedented joint military operation, the governments of Uganda, DR Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic launched an attack on LRA strongholds within DR Congo. “Operation Lightning Thunder”, the name designated for the counteroffensive, was largely unsuccessful in light of both the failure to reach top LRA leadership and the onslaught of violence that followed. One month later on December 24th, 2008, the LRA launched a retaliatory attack against the people of DR Congo. In apparent desperation and a renewed will to spread terror to DR Congo, the LRA murdered over six hundred and abducted more than one hundred and sixty children to fight amongst its ranks. More than 104,000 Congolese have been displaced since Christmas in attempts to escape the LRA forces. As the motives of the LRA become more ambiguous and their crimes more horrific, Invisible Children remains committed to seeking sustainable solutions to foster an environment that encourages peace. We are supporting and equipping a generation ravaged by war so that they can finally know peace. Invisible Children addresses the need for access to education and economic development through innovative programs on the ground.
Guided Practice:
7. The students should read the following article and have them
come up with a list of terms they are either unfamiliar with, or
unclear of their meaning. Also, have them come prepared with 5
questions on what they read in this article. Watch the following teaser to help prepare you for what you are about to experience!!!
Lesson III: Have students look up the following terms and write down the definitions on the video watching guide attached. During the assembly the students will watch the 55min. film Invisible Children: Rough Cut. Have them bring the film guide below to help guide their learning. For homework (or if time permits, immediately after the film) have students write an emotional response to the film. Some of the subject matter is heavy and elicits many different emotions. Ask them to take 15 minutes to journal about how the film made them feel.
Invisible Children: Rough Cut
Key terms to look up (Pre-assembly): Child Soldier
Night Commuter
Rebel Army
African Bus Parks/Verandas
GUSCO (an aid organization)
Lords Resistance Army
Viewing Guide
1. What strikes you most about Laren, Jason, and Bobby? Which one reminds you most of yourself?
2. What do you think the boys were thinking when they decided to take this trip? What were they looking for or expecting to find?
3. Do you remember where you were when the US decided to go into Iraq? How old were you? Did you remember how you felt about it, or know anyone directly effected by it?
4. Which country did they set out to document? Why did they want to film this place?
5. Who are two of the significant woman that they went there and what roles did they play in the boys’ adventure? (extra credit: what was the special talent that one woman possessed?)
6. Which country did they end up in and how did their itinerary change? What even occurred to cause them to stay and investigate this new country in greater depth?
7. Why didn’t they originally want to go to the country that they ended up in?
8. What are the names of three of the boys they met while in Gulu? What struck you most about these boys?
9. Where did these boys sleep and do their homework every night? Why didn’t they sleep in their homes? What term from above best describes this situation.
10. Write a short paragraph below describing the conflict as you understand it; who is involved, how long it has been going on, who are the soldiers and why do they kill, who are the victims of the LRA, etc.
Lesson IV: Materials: * Viewing guide from the video, completed * Journal response from the film to discuss Anticipatory Set: 1. This film connects students with now information on a conflict they have most likely never heard of before, but at times the educational aspect of it can be overlooked due to the emotions that it is able to connect with in students. Be sure to allow students to feel they can connect with those emotions in class, but also to not overlook the information that has been given to them. Ask students to retrieve their journal entry from the night before and to read over it. Facilitate a 15 minute discussion on what their response was to this film.
2. Have students exchange the viewing guide and correct it for accuracy of information.
Adaptations for different classes/standards: American Government/Civics classes Allow students time to brainstorm as a class the checks and balances in our government that keep this sort of thing from happening. Pose the question of culture as a variable as well, not just political structure. . . what might be culturally acceptable here that would not be embraced politically in their government? What are the cultural restraints of tribalism that may have enabled this war to occur and then be prolonged? What inherent rights does the US protect that are being violated here? Look up the Ugandan Constitution and have your class read it over. What inconsistencies are there with the constitution and what is going on? Is it too vague, or being ignored/not enforced? What might be the problem with the police enforcing peace? World History/Culture classes Have students pick a region of Africa to research. Tell them to do a brief look at wars that have taken place in that area in the past 200 years. Research with students the different examples of colonization in Africa, as well the slave trades that broke up tribes and cultures. Have students take particular notice of things such as tribalism, industrialization of the western world, and colonization. Other Disciplines Encourage students to portray their findings of these events in a creative way, just like the film makers did, and then present these findings to their class.
*Some examples of ways to portray these things are (but are not limited to).
- drawing/writing a picture book that tells the story using pictures, targeting a different age group (but staying age appropriate).
- writing a song/poetry that tells this story. - hosting an art show that tells the story via different sequential paintings, or displaying sequential paintings in your hallway that tell a story.
- Create an “Invisible Children” board in class and have students look through the newspapers and magazines looking for other examples of children or conflict that have gone “invisible.”
-Ask students to come up with other ideas that reflect their specific identities.
Current Events 1. Have students research the current political set up of Uganda, or another region of Africa that is suffering from famine, poverty, AIDS, or another war of some kind.
Lesson V: Assessment For this part of the unit, allow students either homework or class time (recommended 1 week homework, or 2 class periods) to work on projects where they use their creativity and individual ideas/talents to tell an untold story. . .to use their voice and sphere of influence to create positive change through awareness.
1. Have a newspaper day each week where students skim through the newspaper for articles on events occurring in Africa. Have them cut out the article and attach it to a bulletin board in the classroom. For extra credit, have students continually looking for these articles, writing 1 paragraph summaries about the article, and displaying them creatively on the board to raise awareness on this forgotten continent.
The Legacy Tour East Coast Team
(Left) East Coast Team: Bert, Terra, Natalie, Johannes (Right) Featured in Together We Are Free: Natalie Warne
Meet Natalie: As a high school
senior in Chicago, Natalie saw the Rough Cut and learned for the
first time How you can help… After this experience most of you will be left with the feeling of helplessness on how you can have an effect with helping the invisible children. The following is an effort to do just that.
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