Throughout history, we have heard of many instances where slavery has been an issue. Our country even had a whole civil war over the topic. It’s one of the most important of the basic human rights, so why is it still an issue? Many people have fought for the freedom of those who are enslaved, so why are people still ignoring the fact that slavery is morally wrong? The truth is, people still ignore the fact that all of these events leading up to today have happened for one reason, to prevent future generations from having to deal with this atrocious issue . They just don’t care. Do you remember when you were a kid, when your parents told you that there is no such thing as monsters? Well, they were wrong. The real monsters aren’t the ones you see in fairytales, though. They are people. Human beings.

Have you ever heard of the name “Joseph Kony”? It sounds normal, right? The truth is that he currently is the most wanted man in the world. He has committed terrible crimes, crimes that are comparable to Hitler’s. He is the monster of today.

Joseph Kony (age 50) is the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). His goal is to “purify” the Acholi people, his people, and to turn the government of Uganda into a theocracy by force. He believes himself to be the voice of god: spreading his message to the people of Uganda. He believes himself not to be a terrorist, but a saint. He and his soldiers are taking the country by force.

That doesn’t sound too bad, right? He is just another criminal, a very confused one at that, which needs to be stopped. Well, you still haven’t heard the worst of it. His soldiers are abducted children. Yes, you heard me right, abducted children, who have been forced into slavery. He has also turned those once innocent children, specifically the girls, into child-sex slaves. They are constantly abused and treated like animals. Their innocence have been ruthlessly taken away from them. What do we call these kids, you ask? They are called “the Invisible Children,” because their voices still haven’t been heard by the people of the world, even though they constantly call for help. They haven’t been rescued. The absurdity of his crimes against humanity is what has caught the world’s attention and put him at the top of the most wanted list.

Over 66,000 children have become soldiers under Kony and about 2,000,000 people have been internally displaced since 1986.

I know what you’re thinking, “Why haven’t I heard about this until recently? This has been going on for a long time, yet I haven’t heard about it until just now.” The truth is, I just don’t know. Maybe people were trying to cover it up, like some tried to do with the holocaust. Maybe it was just too dangerous to do anything until now. Or, maybe we did know but did nothing about it. I guess I will leave that up for you to decide.

But where is the justice in ignoring the cries of those children? The Invisible Children are tortured constantly and forced to kill their own families. If they rebel, they and everyone they love will be shot down like dogs. All of their basic rights have been taken away, and they live their lives in fear. Many children have to go into hiding so they won’t be taken captive by Kony and the LRA.

We need to put an end to Kony and his crimes. That is why many videos have gone viral, to spread the knowledge of the LRA. We will put a stop to these violations of human rights, but first we have to hear the voices of the enslaved Invisible Children, one person at a time, to be able to take action.

Sites used:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony