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INVISIBLE CHILDREN INC.
Invisible Children uses film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers in Joseph Kony's rebel war and restore LRA-affected communities in central Africa to peace and prosperity.
Supporters of Resolve Uganda and Invisible Children’s advocacy work have been camped in front of Senator Coburn’s office for about 50 hours now.
This will be the third night that they spend outside in Oklahoma City. And what a difference it has already made. Many people have stopped to ask questions and offer their encouragement. We even heard that 5-6 of the people passing by were so moved by the cause that they decided to join the demonstrators in their 24/7 vigil.
Morale continues to be high because the demonstraters believe whole-heartedly in their cause. Of course, they are cold, uncomfortable, hungry, and exhausted, but they will be the first to tell you that it is worth it. After all, the children of Northern Uganda have had to endure much worse. Just remembering that truth renews the demonstrators’ resolve as they continue The Hold Out.
Once again, get to Oklahoma City if you can. Go to www.coburnsayyes.com to find out more about this demonstration. And watch the live feed to see what is going on right now on the corner of Broadway and Main.
Thank you to everyone who has offered support in body or in spirit.
Last night the thermometer recorded a low of 24 degrees in Oklahoma City, but still 50 supporters of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act spent the night in front of the Chase Building where Senator Coburn’s office is located.
Coburn still hasn’t released his hold on the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery, so we are still holding out.
The best way that you can help right now is to get to Oklahoma in person. They need all the support that they can get. The current goal is to get the attention of local media. Do what you can to make that happen. Bigger crowds mean more press. Get a celebrity to tweet about The Hold Out. If you live in Oklahoma, then get a local news outlet to cover the event. (Go here to watch Fox 9’s coverage of the rally and march).
I caught up with Lisa Dougan who is on staff at Resolve Uganda and one of the event’s main organizers. She said that she is amazed at the high spirits among the group. People are laughing, singing, and respectfully demonstrating support for the bill. Apparently the spirit is infectious because several passers-by have paused to write letters to Senator Coburn. Even the Chase Building security guards have been encouraging beyond all expectations.
Part of the group is staying in front of Coburn’s office, and the other part is walking around Oklahoma City, telling people about the cause.
All in all, morale is high. You can help feed those who are holding out by donating money to the campaign here. And watch the Live Feed so you can show your support in spirit.
Senator Feingold, one of the co-authors of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act made a statement on the senate floor, imploring the President and addressing Coburn’s opposition. Click here for the entire statement, or read below:
“Unfortunately, Mr. President, one Senator has objected to passage of this bill because of the authorization of funds. Now let me be clear: I share concerns about our record deficits and believe we have a responsibility to our children and our grandchildren to control reckless spending. That is why I make a point to include an offset whenever I introduce a bill that authorizes funds. This bill was no different. When it was introduced, it included an offset to reduce excess secondary inventory for the Air Force; inventory that the GAO found wasteful and the Air Force acknowledged it didn’t need. Unfortunately though, some objected to this offset and it was removed in committee.
Now, I have offered to stipulate that the bill should use already authorized funds, rather than authorizing new funds. Apparently that’s not sufficient. While I am disappointed that the offset was removed from this bill, I do not believe it is sufficient cause to stop this bill from moving forward. We should keep in mind that passing this legislation would not automatically trigger increased spending. This bill authorizes funds, but appropriating them is a different matter. I am more than willing to work with lead cosponsors of this bill and others, during the appropriations process, to ensure this bill does not increase our overall budget. In fact, I’d like to work with all of my colleagues in general to eliminate wasteful spending.
Mr. President, we need to pass this bill. We have a unique opportunity right now as members of Congress to make a statement that the mass killing of innocent life by the LRA is unacceptable, and that we as a country will not stand by as it continues to happen. By passing this bill, we can charge our government with looking seriously at how we can do more to help bring these atrocities to an end. When we look back at Rwanda in April of 1994, I think each and every one of us wishes we had done more to save lives. The same can be said about the brutal massacres by the RUF in Sierra Leone or by Charles Taylor’s army in Liberia. But we need to not only acknowledge those regrets; we need to learn from them.
Mr. President, the LRA’s massacres are taking place now. They are on our watch. This time, let us not look back and wish we had done more. I urge all my colleagues to come together to pass this bill.
I yield the floor.”
Remove the glove. *Smack* *Smack* Touché. It’s your move Coburn.
This is it. Oklahoma’s own Rescue. Here’s what we need from you:
If you live in or near Oklahoma, then get to Senator Coburn’s office.
For that matter, if you have some frequent flyer miles, a birthday check from Grandma, a gas card, or even student loans — then get a group together and get out here.
Here’s what’s happened. Coburn originally objected to the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act because he wanted to make a point about the national debt and he didn’t agree with where the money was coming from. We understood his concern and so offered him a compromise. Basically, we said that we would revise the bill so that the $40 million would come out of the State Department’s budget. This is an extremely reasonable offer.
This morning, he flat-out rejected the compromise. He’s about to find out how serious we are about this. We are going to camp in front of his office until he releases his hold on the bill.
We cannot do this without you.
If you can’t spend the night, then just come by for a few hours. Support those who are sticking out the 24-hour shifts by donating money towards keeping them warm and fed. Or just drop by with some coffee and blankets.
No matter where you live, make sure to call Senator Coburn’s office at 202 224 5754. (We heard rumors that his voicemail box is full which means that we are doing something right!) Or send him an e-mail. As always, keep it classy.
I asked Michael Poffenberger from Resolve: Uganda to explain the negotiation process, so that we’d have a better grip on why Coburn is refusing a meeting, and how it’s possible that he could high-jack this whole bill. Here is what he told me:
Negotiations With Senator Coburn: What’s Really Going Down
Here’s the deal. We’ve spared you the nitty gritty details of our negotiations with Coburn because it can be a bit overwhelming. But with the Senator’s staff in Washington telling all you phone callers that we are the ones not accepting a reasonable compromise, it’s time to clarify.
In its present form, the bill authorizes a total of $40 million. Of that money, $10 million is intended to help those being victimized by LRA attacks, and $30 million is intended to prevent northern Uganda from returning to future conflict (because the LRA has moved out of Uganda). The $30 million actually aims to save our country money in the long-term.
Here’s point #1: An authorization doesn’t actually guarantee the money will be provided.
Senator Coburn’s main concern is ‘growing the government through more spending.’ He hates big government (which is fair). But we aren’t asking for that. It is simply telling the Members of Congress who write our nation’s budget that we hope they will include this in the pre-decided budget. That’s why this bill doesn’t actually add a dime to our nation’s deficit.
Senator Coburn feels that we should have to guarantee that the act of authorizing these funds won’t somehow end up expanding the size of the U.S. government. That’s why he wants an “offset”. An offset specifies where exactly the money would come from if in fact it is ultimately included in the budget.
Here’s point #2: An “offset” = death for this bill.
We have looked into every single bill that Congress passed by Unanimous Consent (which is how our bill has to be passed; we’ll explain that below) in the last five years, and we can’t find a single one that included an offset. That’s because any time you take money away from an existing project, it’s going to make someone angry. Especially in this environment, when taking funds away from an existing project means Americans will lose their jobs because of our bill. Obviously, that will not work – other Senators (likely more than just one) would block the bill’s passage if we tried to attach an offset.
On an ironic note, because the bill’s original authors in Congress share Senator Coburn’s concern for our nation’s debts, they included an offset in the original language just to make a point. But they knew it would be stripped so that the bill could pass, which it was when the bill went through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Here’s point #3: Senator Coburn has agreed to dozens and dozens of bills that authorize funds with no offsets.
We researched every bill he agreed to pass since joining the Senate in 2005, and at least 48 of them authorize funds for a new program, without offsetting it. We’re posting the full list here for your own edification, but we’ll give you two examples: $7.5 billion (yep, with a “b”) for development efforts in Pakistan just two months ago, and $39 million to study Salt Cedar and Russian Olive trees. And we can’t get $40 million in a bill seeking to end one of our world’s most urgent crises?
So what’s our compromise?
We told the Senator’s staff that we would amend the bill to clarify that the funds authorized in the bill would come from the State Department’s existing foreign aid budget. Though it sounds like the Senator himself endorsed this approach when asked by activist Mark Nehrenz at an Oklahoma Town Hall session (see the video here; fast forward to the four minute mark), he is still refusing to accept it.
This isn’t the only compromise that has been offered – we’ve tried many others, all of which have been rejected.
To us, it seems we are being presented with a choice by Senator Coburn: either strip the funds in the bill and don’t provide assistance to the families who are being forced to flee their homes and watch their neighbors and children get attacked and abducted, or attach an offset that would kill the entire bill.
As you know, we won’t roll over on this. This is exactly the kind of failure to appreciate the gravity of what children and families in central Africa are going through – the kind of failure of leadership – that has allowed this war to continue for so long.
- Michael Poffenberger.
Here’s an update video from Kenneth and Lisa from Resolve:
I spent the day with the team from charity: water in Haiti’s Central Plateau, where thousands of people have been displaced from the capital city into rural communities.
Of the one million displaced from Port au Prince, half are reported to be finding refuge in the rural areas, pushed out of the capital by fallen buildings and collapsed industry. Households are swelling with new residents, and the challenges of accessing basic services like safe drinking water are growing more immense.
In a community called Marialapa, young students were getting sick to the point of hospitalization from drinking contaminated ravine water. The nearest clean water source, we learned, was far away from school and not easily accessible to the growing group of students.
When asked what the community in Marialapa would be willing to contribute to a clean water project in their area, one man stood up and answered, “We don’t have money, but we are ready to bring you our courage.” I believed him, and smiled at the thought of those of us who are not so courageous being able to contribute something small to help balance out his equation.
Tomorrow we’ll head to an island off the coast called La Gonave, where we’ll stay for two days with people who have boated from Port au Prince to seek refuge. I’m including some of Esther’s pictures from today.
This is a cover by Matthew Perryman Jones of a song called “The Pearl” by Emmylou Harris. It’s quickly becoming an all-time favorite. ENJOY. Thanks J. Miller.
Atanga students show off some of their new sports uniforms
Sports in Uganda are huge. From clubs to tournaments and one-off matches, people of northern Uganda love competing against one another in sports like basketball, football, netball, and track and field.
The Schools For Schools team wanted our student athletes to kick-off the new year in style, so today, we delivered uniforms and equipment to our 11 partner schools. The gear will be used for the boys’ football teams and the girls’ netball teams.
Timing couldn’t be better as next week marks the start of a national football tournament sponsored by Coca-Cola. Last year, our Pabbo girls football team represented Amuru district in the finals! We’re excited to watch and root for our partner schools competing in this year’s tournament.
The earthquake outside of Port-au-Prince last month was the worst natural disaster to hit the western hemisphere in 100 years. While our mission has always been focused on ending Joseph Kony’s terror in central Africa, this tragedy shook us to the core and we felt a powerful desire to help in any way we could. The Chase contest gave us the opportunity to do that. Winning $1MM liberated us financially in such a way that we have been able to give $100,000 to direct relief efforts in Haiti. As with our programs in Uganda, we intended to turn this money into effective and sustainable improvements for the health and education of the earthquake-affected Haitians. With that commitment, we wanted to partner with an organization already doing good work on the ground.
Our friends at charity: water were the perfect fit. They provide clean drinking water in developing nations around the world. This basic need of humanity is one of the starkest dividing lines in the poorest places on the planet, and charity: water is dedicated to leveling the playing field. Even before the earthquake, one third of Haitians did not have clean drinking water. With the destruction of the country’s infrastructure and with rubble and debris littering the water supply, the need has become exponentially worse.
Our Mission Director Adam Finck is currently on the ground in Haiti with the team from charity: water meeting with local partners, assessing the needs of the people and mapping out a long-term investment strategy to provide sustainable water solutions.
We’ll be posting here so you can see the photos and read the stories of their travels as they happen. Adam will be updating us with what he’s seeing and learning. Stay tuned. Here are some pictures of their first day.
Our friends from TOUR TRANSPORT and Manchester Orchestra helped us to create this tour bus wrap for their upcoming North American tour. Imagine the reactions we’ll get on I-90 with this picture….
We will be on the road with Manchester for 4 weeks starting in March and then with THRICE directly after. Come support some great bands and stop by our Invisible Children booth.
