Can they choose where they want to be, Joseph Kony?

I stand motionless at the edge of this cliff, admiring the beauty below me yet gazing at the verdant grassland below. It dances and bows in reverence, as the warm summer sun massages its rays into its inclined back. Even the raindrops sparkle against the afternoon sunshine, sending tinctures of glittering gold that give this Motherland a splendid sparkle to it. The air is thickly crammed with a unique aura of fresh lavender, forming a sweet blend of grappling scent as it mixes with the smell of freshly harvested fruits from farms just down the hill. It looks all so beautiful; every single thing before me perfectly positioned in its rightful place.

Africa is a place many dream of visiting. They call it the 'Cradle of Humanity'. The site of mountains that meander into the horizon, splattered with a wide range of canopy trees that are buoyed up by their mammoth buttress roots. From a distance the chimneys from the city poke out behind the hills, as if they are leaning on to the cotton-white clouds slowly drifting along the blue sky. What a world I should say. What a beautiful place. Would I be anywhere else, I ask myself?

Last week I woke up to a rather cheerless, heartbreaking and dreadful story about Joseph Kony. His name is all over the news, internet, mobile devices, and probably plastered on building walls. For others, his name dangles around their wrists, as a bracelet that is sign that ‘united we stand, divided we fall’. The world has surely spoken. Peoples’ voices echo in the belly of Africa and the entire world right now, because they have woken up to a greater cause. I only have one question though, why didn’t the world know, if this has been happening for over 20 years now.

For those who have not seen the video, or heard any news about Joseph Kony, he is a man on the #1 spot on the International Criminal Court's Most Wanted List. He faces many diabolic crimes. Over a period of 30 years, he has enslaved more than 30 000 kids, abused them and turned young girls into sex workers, and forcing the young boys to kill their parents and mutilate others.

While watching the short film, my heart sinks, to the deepest and darkest part of the world where I feel lost and tears forming in my eyes. “I would rather be dead than to be on this earth,” one of the boys who survived, back then when he was interviewed by Jason Russell, the man behind this film. 

He surely had lost hope in life. He figured he would rather be dead than face the evil hand of Joseph Kony. Why can’t they choose, Joseph Kony? Who put you in charge of their lives, I ask? 

But, on the other hand, I doubt the entire world didn’t know about him. Was revealing his activities going to affect the operations of some? For 26 years he continued to cause havoc, but why did some turn a blind eye to his deeds? It’s certainly because of man like Kony that this continent remains at the far end of development and progress. For 30 years he has killed the hearts and minds of that country; the brains that could have mapped Uganda and the whole of Africa with the developed world. 

He has not killed Ugandans, but he has killed each and every individual who believes in freedom and equality, people who believe in a war-free environments, peace and unity. Why should one be afraid of life, and would choose to die? Why should the people of Uganda not enjoy the freedom and beauty that comes with life like every other individual in the world?

Let them choose their own path, Joseph Kony.