Helping Invisible Children - Child Soldiers

Here's a commercial for Invisible Children, a movie about child soldiers in Uganda we're going to watch when we get back from break. The commercial takes a joking look at something most of us hate but turning it into something positive.




Plus, the website and organization for Invisible Children is sponsoring a book drive that ends January 30, 2009. We can collect our school's goal of 10,000 books. In fact, I'll bet we can probably do even more.

Check out the website, http://www.invisiblechildren.com/theMovement/ , and start collecting those books. Here's a list of books that they won't take, but they will take mostly everything.

Start looking for those books!!!

Blog #2 - Child Soldiers in African Conflicts

Imagine yourself at the age of 12 or 13 being forcibly drafted into a conflict in your country to fight in a civil war or against another country. The men that have kidnapped you take you far away from home, give you guns, and test your courage by asking to kill unarmed prisoners. You can't run away b/c you don't know where to go. You might have your brothers with you, so they'll have to come too. The people who hold you captive are armed and very dangerous and do not want to let you go, and may have even threatened to kill some of the boys from your village if any one of you runs away.

Here's a quote from an article about child soldiers in Sierra Leone:

"In fact, Sierra Leone has one of the worst records for using child soldiers in its civil war. Since the war began in 1991, it has been estimated that at least 4,500 children were used as soldiers to fight for either side, the government or the rebel group- the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The war caused many orphans as well as separations, which therefore made children more vulnerable for recruitment. Children who joined out of their own free will were usually enticed with material possession, such as shoes and clothes, as well as the basic essentials as food and shelter. The rebel group, the RUF, also provided a form of education whereas the government had not been able to provide any kind of education to children. Whilst other children were abducted and forced to torture and murder their own family members as part of their recruitment process. Once recruited these children were trained and militarised in captured villages, youth military camps were set up, where training usually took place in schools. Since the war began, it was estimated that half of the RUF soldiers were under the age of 14.[21] The majority of the children that freely joined the government military forces did so because they wished to avenge the death of their loved ones, whereas others who were orphaned and living on the streets saw it as a guarantee in food, shelter, clothes and acceptance in a kind of ‘family’ environment with their comrades.[22]"

This situation is very similar to the one described in the book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. The RUF tore through his home town while he and his brother were away and then they were captured soon afterwards. Ishmael was only 12 when he was forced to be a soldier.

The questions for you vary: PICK ONE

1. If one of these young men were rescued or escaped and brought to America, what kinds of issues might he have with adjusting to American life? Why?

2. Imagine yourself an African child (boy or girl) and kidnapped into a rebel army at your current age; try to describe the emotions, thoughts, and images going through your mind as you underwent this traumatic experience.

3. What can you do as an American teenager to highlight or raise the awareness of child soldiers?

Your blog is due by Tuesday, December 16th. 150 words minimum.

Article by Sandra Rocha quoted - http://socsci.flinders.edu.au/global/africa/sandrarocha/childsoldiers/ChildSoldiers.htm

International Rescue Committee - http://www.theirc.org/index2.html

Update on Zimbabwe - http://theelders-news.blogspot.com/2008/11/elders-zimbabwe-is-failing-its-people.html This press release goes into more detail about how Mugabe's policies have just made the country's problems get even worse.

Blog #1 - Conservation, Political Order, or Poverty: Which Do You Fix First?

Using this interactive timeline w/ photos from the National Geographic website, please take a few moments to read it over and then examine this complicated issue in the Congo / Rwanda / Uganda region from a Westerner's (outsider's) point of view. (If your timeline link doesn't work above, here's the timeline link so that you can copy and paste - http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/07/virunga/timeline-interactive )

It appears that there are so many ways to look at this beautiful rain forest and mountain gorilla preserve and the human devastation around it and NOT want to do something about it; in fact, recognizing that a genocide has occurred in 1994 compels (by law) the international community to act. The UN and other nations did act, but not before 800,000 people were massacred in a little over 4 months time in 1994. Afterwards, the massive # of refugees (2.5 million) flooded the Virunga National Park and complicated the wildlife preserve's delicate balance. This remains an issue for five years. Not only are mountain gorillas threatened by poaching during the most recent Congolese war, but the hippo population is down 95% as well as the elephant herds.

Even after a treaty was signed, in an effort to end poverty, the Rwandans seize park land to clear the forests and plants crops. Park rangers are still targets - whether shot by poachers or people looking to cash in on the illegal charcoal trade (chopping and burning trees to make this has been banned to preserve the forests), over 110 rangers have died guarding the park. In 2007, gorilla murders have been used to send messages to conservationists and politicians not to mess with the charcoal trade. When the head warden of the Virunga National Park, Honore Mashagiro, fell under suspicion, he denied it, but questions still remain.

So, after watching the video and examining the timeline, which do you think is the most important priority in this region: to conserve the wildlife of the Virunga; to bring stability and peace by ending the corruption and war; or solve the poverty problem by helping the poor of this region make a living instead of burning forests down to make charcoal?

Answer this question with your reasons why in 150 words.

United Nations - Great Apes Survival Project - http://www.unep.org/grasp/

Raise Hope For the Congo - Protect Women of the Congo - http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/

Welcome to the Groves World History blog!

On our classes' blog, 1st and 2nd hour will have an opportunity to publish online.