The Human Rights Site

A new video has been circulating around the world and has many people talking about one man. The 30 minute video, Kony 2012, has already hit 58 million views and is increasing awareness about Ugandan war lord, Joseph Kony, and the atrocities he’s been committing in Uganda and surrounding countries. But viewers and people just learning about this human rights crisis should watch the video with a discerning eye and not that the film was created to cause awareness and bring about action, rather than state the cold hard facts. 

Although Kony 2012 is an inspiring and moving short documentary about Joseph Kony and his Lords Resistance Army, the film does not always present the whole story. For instance, in the 30 minute film, there is only a passing reference to Kony and his army’s whereabouts now. In 2006, Kony fled with his army from Ugandan military forces. They are no longer established in northern Uganda but operate and continue to torture and kill civilians in neighboring countries. If you are just learning about this and watching the film for the first time, you may still believe that Kony is operating in northern Uganda and has a franchise of army troops in surrounding countries. But this is not the case.

Also, the film, which was created by the non-profit group Invisible Children, really focuses on Kony’s victims and states that his army is made up of 30,000 mindless children who have been abducted. Although Kony has abducted upwards of 30,000 children in the past 25 years, which is horrible, this statistics makes it seem as if these 30,000 children are still under his control and in captivity, which is not true. 

In addition to presenting moving facts about Kony and the LRA, the film asks viewers to take action. For 30 dollars, people can sign a pledge to spread awareness about Kony and his atrocities, and they also receive a wristband and other items. However, these things alone are not going to help catch Kony this year. Instead, the main purpose of the  video (which you may not know) is to keep pressure on the US military that’s already stationed in Uganda, to support Uganda’s efforts in hunting for Kony. Do not be fooled into thinking that signing a pledge and a wristband will bring justice in Uganda.

And one more point to think about. It’s already complicated enough that Obama has sent troops to aid a country that is not necessarily a democratic state. This could become a slippery slope for us, as we’re also trying to navigate the situation in Syria. And, by supporting the Uganda’s efforts to hunt down and capture Kony’s LRA we must remember that many of these soldiers are brainwashed children. Are we going to simply storm in and massacre an army of children because through fear and brainwashing they’ve been forced to commit atrocities of their own?

There is no doubt that the Kony 2012 film raises awareness about this horrible man and will help educate the world about his crimes. But when watching the documentary, one must have the whole story.

Self-immolation is the practice of setting oneself on fire, often as the last and drastic measure of protest. Over the past year over two dozen monks and nuns have underwent this practice in order to protest China’s repressive actions against culture and religion in Tibet.

Many of these acts of self-immolation have taken place in the Sichuan province of China. The Tibetans that are forced to live in this region have little, if any, democratic

outlets for people to protest and the desperate act of lighting one’s body on fire seems to make the greatest statement. With the Tibetan New Year just around the corner (February 22nd) many fear violent clashes and self-immolators will increase. Already, Chinese military forces have flooded into Tibetan cities and are ready to combat any actions of protest. 

So far, the past year has been the bloodiest in term of Tibetans rioting and protesting since 2008, when Chinese troops implemented a deadly crackdown upon Tibet’s capital, Lhasa.

Although China tries to blame the “violence” and spike in self-immolation on the Dalai Lama, claiming the religious leader as forcing monks and nuns to burn themselves, of course these is no evidence that the peace loving Dalai Lama would requires such action. In any case the unique thing about those who self-immolate is that fact that they typically are acting on their own volition. Self-immolation is not considered a terrorist act because it’s not a group or organized effort but solely one individual’s will.

One thing is certain, the sheer rise of self-immolators in Tibet is a scream to western nations that China is abusive and continues to repress these people.

If you want to help those fighting for their freedom in Tibet and feel that the Dalai Lama should be able to return and lead his people sign the Stand up for Tibet Pledge.

Washington state, once again is nearing closer to become the next state to allow same-sex marriage, but there are a few obstacles standing in the way of getting the votes.

It’s true that in a few months, Washington may become the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage. According to House Speaker Frank Chopp, there are enough votes to move the bill from his chamber and into the house, where he feels the bill could pass. However in the senate, the bill is still in danger of falling apart. 

The bill was introduced on January 13th and many believe it has a good chance of passing but it will be it will be a close one. In order for the bill to pass the senate, 25 votes are required. But, so far there are only 23 “reliable” yes voters out there. Of these 23, 21 are democrats and two are republicans. That leaves a short margin of only two people that need to be swayed to vote yes. There are also 20 senators who will definitely against the bill. So out of 49 total senators there are 6 individuals out there who will sway for or against. This is still promising as we need only two of them to vote yes in order to pass the historic bill.

Here’s the gang of six:

Mary Margaret Haugen D-10

Jim Kastama D-25

Joe Fain R-47

Brian Hatfield D-19

Andy Hill R-45

Paull Shin D-21

I sure hope at least two of these senators can be swayed to vote for the bill. If they know what’s good for them they’ll decide to be on the right side of history in this landmark vote. Let’s face it, same-sex marriage will pass. It’s only a matter of time. So why not be one of those earliest pioneers who made gay marriage a reality in Washington state.

For the second time in two years, Chinese factory workers are threatening to sacrifice their lives if their wages are not increased and working conditions are not improved.

On January 2nd, In Wuhan China, 150 workers secured positions on the top of Foxconn Factory, the largest manufacturing company of electronic devices for companies such as Sony, Microsoft, HP, Apple, and Nintendo. They camped out for several days before being coaxed down by the Major of Wuhan. 

The workers were threatening to jump from the roof after their requests for wages to be raised was denied days earlier. The company stated that any workers who were unhappy with the present conditions were free to leave with a severance pay of sorts. But after many left and no money was ever issued, outraged men took to the roofs in protest. Although the outcome was not deadly, this is not the first time these tactics have been used, and it is not the first time Foxconn factories have come under fire for mistreating and exploiting their workers. In 2010, 18 men threw themselves from the factory roof of a Shenzhen plant, resulting in 14 deaths. 

Although these methods seem horrific, Chinese laborers have suffered physical pains and ailments from the military like methods in which the factory runs its operations and many are living in poverty, with wages not enough to support their families. The production lines of these factories are controlled with an iron fist and workers complain of daily blisters on their hands and skin and being choked by fumes and dust. 

At Foxconn’s plant in Longhua, 24,000 people are reported to quite every month.