Yesterday afternoon, the Embassy received a letter from a 14-year-old Icelandic student expressing her outrage about the atrocities committed by Joseph Kony’s Lords Resistance Army. One could almost feel her frustration that something like that had been going on and she asked what more can we do to stop it. We responded to her letter and confirmed what she had heard about American efforts to protect civilians, provide American assistance, and support the capture of Kony and the disbandment of the LRA. The efforts of people in the U.S. and worldwide to raise awareness about this issue through YouTube and other media is a wonderful demonstration of “people power” in action. For those of us who have worked with African issues over the years and are aware of these issues, it is encouraging and reassuring to see young people express their concern about human rights abuses and their desire that they be stopped. Anyone interested in reading about what we told our young Iceland correspondent, can follow the links below.
http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/fs/2012/183487.htm
http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/2011/178501.htm
