“I think it’s a bunch of bulls**t,” said a Ugandan woman of the campaign to stop warlord Joesph Kony, which went viral last week.
The young woman, who does not give her name, posted her thoughts on YouTube. She began by saying that both of her parents are native Ugandans, and she visits the country frequently. “The last time I went was in the summer of 2010. When I went there we had problems with the Al Qaeda terrorist group, not the LRA,” she said firmly into the camera. So far, her video has nearly 3 million views.
WATCH THE YOUNG WOMAN’S CRITICISM OF KONY 2012>
Her response was in opposition to the “Kony 2012” video, which garnered nearly 77 million page views on YouTube, being spread through social media networks with a polished presentation to support the efforts the Invisible Children organization.
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In their mission to make Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) famous, with the hope of leading to his arrest, Invisible Children has come under scrutiny for what the young woman considered to be opportunism and misleading information about the situation in Uganda. Among the the young woman’s many concerns was Invisible Children’s operating budget, compared to the amount they use for actual aid.
“Kony’s army group formed over 22 years ago when my parents still lived in Uganda,” she said. “They did their worst over 10 years ago and they haven’t struck again in six years. So why is this video being put up now?”
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She ends the video by saying that people who have an interest in Africa should donate their money to more established organizations like Amnesty International. She also urges “Kony 2012” supporters to educate themselves and consider causes like the current unrest in Syria and Darfur.
Follow Donovan X. Ramsey on Twitter at @idxr