Child Soldiers and Christian Rock

I recently came across the Fall Out Boy's music video  "I'm not a lawyer".  Filmed on location in Gulu, the video exposes the MTV generation to the horrors of the 20 year civil war in Northern Uganda.  Apparently Fall Out Boy was turned onto the plight of Ugandan child soldiers by the not for profit group Invisible Children. 

I first watched Invisible Children movie while living in Uganda.  With excitement I reached out to some of my college in the emergency management and aid fields.  To my dismay I received the following email from Matthew Emry, the Senior Program Officer for Conflict, Post-Conflict, and Emergency Relief for the American Jewish World Service (AJWS):

"I am very familiar with the film Invisible Children and wanted to give you some background information about it. Do with this information what ever you want.

All the footage of the child soldiers was not of the LRA. It was most likely stock footage of Sierra Leone, but the film makers are trying to pass it off as footage they shot in Uganda

The film violates several core child rights principles when interviewing children affected by conflict. The entire child rights circle at the UN and many prominent NGOs are outraged by the abuses of these principles, including re traumatization, protection of children's identity and securing their safety and support. My mentor was consulted during the editing of the film, she yelled at the makers for three hours. She also asked to not have her name affiliated with the film. Several of the boys interviewed could actually make a claim for asylum under US asylum law due to the film makers' abuses of these security and human rights principles.

The film's focus is as much about the "bravery" of the three college students as it is supposed to be about the situation

Many key facts about the war are mis-stated or are left out all together…it's advocacy message is missing large essential pieces

Finally, the film is heavily supported by the far-right evangelical movement in California (the three boys are strong evangelicals). All the proceeds from the film are being used to pay for the work of these three men and the building of an evangelical feeding center in the north.

Admittedly, the footage of the night commuters was very compelling and the overall visual quality of the film was good…but……

There are other films. You should visit Witness.org and act for children."

So, while I am pleased to see that Fall Out Boy and Invisible Children highlighting this humanitarian nightmare, I encourage those compelled to get involved to pursue other avenue for donation and advocacy.