Documentary on Ugandan children to be shown in

In an effort to bring awareness to a distant but important problem, two screenings of the documentary “Invisible Children: Rough Cut” will be shown this weekend at Sisters Movie House.

The film focuses on the plight of children stolen from their homes in Northern Uganda by members of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

The documentary will show at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, March 11, and again at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12.

The filmakers’ group, also called Invisible Children, makes it a policy that the screening must be free of charge. Sisters Movie House agreed to donate theater space and equipment.

Three young Americans traveled to Africa in 2003, unaware of what they would ultimately experience during their loosely-planned trip. While there they learned about the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony, and its practice of kidnapping people — particularly children — to use as members of their army. The kidnappings have been ongoing over the past 20 years.

The children, usually aged 8-14 when captured, are brutalized, brainwashed and taught to kill. Since 1987, an estimated 30,000 children have been abducted.

The LRA has opposed the Ugandan government for years and has, until recently, been directly supported by the government in Sudan. Many of the current army members are adults kidnapped as children who continue to support Kony and who feel that they cannot give themselves up for fear of reprisals from their original villages.

One result of the LRA’s raids over the years is the movement of hundreds and hundreds of children each night out of their villages, called the “night commute,” into cities where they feel safer from the rebels. The result of this unease means that thousands of children are displaced from family and are getting no education.

Complicating the insecurity of many children is the sickness and death of their parents due to AIDS.

The young Americans were so moved by what they saw, they began filming, hoping to be able to show the people of the United States what was going on. They started the organization Invisible Children, which has continued to grow over the last three years.

The United Nations has recently called this issue the greatest emergency in the world involving children. The Ugandan army outnumbers members of the LRA 20-1, but the movement continues to wreak havoc in the lives of people of northern Uganda.

The LRA has killed international peacekeepers and continued terror campaigns among Ugandan and southern Sudanese people.

According to the American group’s Web site (www.invisiblechildren.com), its stated mission is to “providing financial resources to invisible children by documenting their true, untold stories in a creative and relevant way, resulting in positive change.”

College-aged people from all over the United States have become involved in the distribution of the organization’s free film. Local youth ministry leader Shane Simonsen heard about the issue and has helped to arrange the screening.

There will be a 10-minute introduction to the film and afterwards copies of the DVD along with bracelets, made by Ugandans, will be on sale. The bracelets are part of a “Fair Trade” movement to directly help the filmmakers earn money.

Following Sunday afternoon’s screening a reception will be held at Sisters Coffee Co. at 2 p.m to give people a chance to talk about the film.

The Invisible Children group plans to develop the “Rough Cut” film into a feature length documentary in the future.