Dear friends of Invisible Children, April 29, 2005

The skin has shed, the clouds have passed and the story is coming to fruition. It’s astonishing how much happens in Africa in just a few weeks.

In English class 101 an individual is always taught to begin each paper with an attention grabber, a bang, something that really creates a heart palpitation. In an attempt to make all the English teachers of America proud, let us humbly present to you our first of three stories:

WE HEARD THE REBELS:

(not recommended for the faint of heart or any of our parents).

Everything you are about to read is true. If you don’t believe us we have the footage to back it up – and it’s not all “Blair Witchy� either. To tell this in a thorough manner we must give you a little back-story by introducing you to a young man named Patrick. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels abducted Patrick as a nine-year-old boy. We met up with Patrick through a contact of a contact of a friend, and he has been instrumental in giving us insight into the inner workings of this complex war. Patrick fought for the rebels as a high ranking commander for almost ten years until he had a dream in which he saw a piece of paper with a passage from Isaiah 1:15-20 (which you should read if you want to trip.) Keep in mind the rebels are very spiritual; they read the Bible and pray to Jesus every day. According to Patrick’s testimony, God instructed him through this verse to come out of the bush. Four years ago Patrick came out, and brought 34 other former rebels out with him. This story gets even crazier.

The first night we met Patrick we let him watch the documentary. Half way through the movie he made us pause the film, then rewind it. He pointed to a small ten-year-old boy standing next to a commander and holding an AK-47. He said, “guess who that is�, we were shocked, it was him! Patrick is in Invisible Children! Hold on, there’s more.

About a week ago, it was about 11pm when Patrick was leaving our compound; some of us were hanging out inside the house, some were outside, some of us were in bed. All of the sudden we heard a rapid series of automatic gunfire. It sounded to be coming from about a quarter of a mile away. There was a scurry from the locals outside our gate moving away from the gunfire and into town. Oddly, instead of seeming frantic, it appeared routine. As you can imagine, we became concerned. I think I can state with complete confidence, that none of us have ever lived in a war zone. I could even go a step further to say we have never really heard the sound of automatic gunfire – except for on the Sopranos, or in an Arnold movie. Right then, we heard a voice outside our gate. It was Patrick. He came in and explained to us, with sweat dripping, that he has just had a conversation with some of the rebels, and at the end of their talk the rebels opened-fire on him. (Parents take a breath; faint hearts, don’t faint). The craziest part about Patrick’s demeanor is that he was smiling - almost laughing. After asking him why his appearance was so happy, he explained with a duh, “I just escaped the rebels!� The gunfire lasted about twenty minutes, and in that time we heard the government soldiers bringing out their “Black Mamba Tanks� as the fighting faded off into the distance. Most of us didn’t sleep that night.

The mix of emotions over this event is currently too intense to put into words. The sobering reality of this situation is that the rebels firing the guns were little children, and the locals passing our gates were also- little children. It’s human nature to be immediately concerned for one’s own safety, but once you gain a bit of objectivity you realize: these rebel child soldiers are being forced to find more children, not 20 white arrogant Southern California kids in their 20’s. Strangely enough, we don’t fear for our lives. The above incident has brought us an inch closer to trying to understand the fear the Acholi community face each night.

Our second story is about another victim of the war, and it is entitled…

MARGARET SEEKS SURGERY:

One of the most difficult things to wrap ones head around is the utter brutality of the rebels. They seem to have no mercy, and will do anything to create terror among the population. As of recently they have taken to cutting off ears, noses, and lips of random civilians in the villages. This act of violence is done to send a message to the world that no one should listen, smell, or speak of the government of Uganda. Because according to the rebels, “all the government feeds Ugandans are propaganda and lies.�

At the World Vision rehabilitation center, (where we have spent a lot of time), we have made a friend who has experienced this viciousness first hand. Her name is Margaret, and although her nose, ears, and lips are missing -she has the most amazing eyes. We love to see her laugh. She has three children, the youngest is only three weeks old, and is named James, after Vanessa’s father. Baby James arrived a day after Margaret’s arrival at the center (which was maybe 2 days after she had been cut). The trauma being the reason his birth was premature. Margaret has a caring husband and is recovering with stints of joy and a lot of pain. Our team of girls just got back from a trip to Kampala with her to meet a surgeon, who, despite the rise in victims, is one of the only doctors in Uganda who is equip to reconstruct her facial features. The surgery is not vanity – but necessary - because she cannot eat without drooling, etc. It is solely so she can carry on with life. The surgery is estimated to cost around $6,000 dollars, which of course she cannot afford, and we would love to help her with. Margaret told one of the staff at World Vision, “These American girls were her angels.� We would want nothing more.

What has happened to her could easily symbolize what most of this land has experienced, utter devastation and loss, but it is learning to reconstruct itself one day at a time.

And for our final story we conclude this update with…

ABDUCT THE ABDUCTED:

At the World Vision Rehabilitation Center these formerly abducted children do a lot of playing, singing, and dancing. One of the most unique forms of therapy these children participate in is the dramatization of their abduction. We had the opportunity yesterday to thoroughly document this reenactment. The most exceptional thing about this therapeutic process is how real the details are as they act out the various scenes: abduction, walking, training, fighting the government soldiers, and eventually rescue to be placed into the World Vision Rehabilitation Center. The kids are given wooden guns, boots, walkie-talkies, and plastic bags filled with ashes to act as exploding grenades.

The first time you see the children act out their memories from the bush - it is utterly surreal. It’s disturbing to think that months, weeks, possibly days ago they were holding real guns and grenades. The logic behind this reenactment of aggression is the hope that the children can replace the horrific memories they made with the rebels with a more playful memory made with their friends in a safe environment, and to remind them it is over. To experience the memories with the kids is not only overwhelming but almost tear-jerking, imagining all they’ve seen and done, and knowing, that they will never really be able to completely forget.

We are nearing the end of our trip (May11th) and many of us don’t want to leave. Bobby, Laren, Jason, Danica, and Katie are going to be staying on about another month to get more of the story solidified and do a final sweep. We have many stories to tell you when we get home; stories that you won’t believe.

The other thing is, the “I heart IC� key-chains aren’t selling as well as we projected (kidding, there aren’t any key-chains… yet) – and we are in need of money. We are trying to get an aerial shot from a plane of the Internally Displaced Camps, and it costs about $1500 bucks for a two-hour ride. We had to put new tires on our van: $700 bucks later. (You gotta see Ugandan roads to understand.)

We are also throwing a huge concert for northern Ugandan musicians in an IDP camp. Okay- take the image of a thousand sweaty teenagers jumping and boozing and violently nodding their heads to the beat of a bone rattling rhythm out of your mind- think: old legless, toothless women, their friends and grandchildren, in their backyard, definitely dancing, but to a reggae rasta-beat, and let us further clarify.

These people who have been forced to leave their homes and their land, to live in the inhumane conditions of these camps because of this war, often have access to a radio. Everyday they listen to the music artists of the north who sing about AIDS, poverty, and the war. They love this music because it is about them. It is uplifting. As is Bette Midler’s “Wind beneath my wings" - (which we hear equally as much) but, you know, relevant. Anyway, obviously, the people in the camps have never been able to see the artists live. This concert is going to be an amazing feet, seeing that there has never been any type of concert in an Internally Displaced Camp (IDP) in the world, as far as we know. History is in the making. We know that this event will bring resilience and hope that only music can bring to the human soul. The concert is sending them a message that they matter, to not give up, and to be united in the effort to survive. Coming from it’s own people, singing about their lives, directly to them- will be incredible. The entire concert will cost around $20,000 in which we are currently trying to get sponsors from Kampala, but just the initial phase is costing about $5,000 dollars.

In addition, we are having a press release and film launch of the rough cut of Invisible Children in the movie theater in Kampala this upcoming week. All in all things are moving forward at a steady rate.

Long story short (too late), we suck at asking for money, but the truth of the matter is, we have run out, and we are now officially asking for it. If you were thinking of having a mass screening or a house party, or asking that really rich uncle who has investments in Texan oil, now is the time to activate the resources.

We figure you’re receiving this e-mail because you saw the movie, feel part of the movement, and cared enough to read this much of the e-mail. So, another easy alternative is asking each of you who are receiving this e-mail to send us $5 bucks in the mail. Lets give those fellas at the Post Office somethin’ to do by using that archaic way of communication: Snail Mail. Besides we all have $5 bucks, just don’t buy a Starbucks today. Put a literal 5-spot in an envelope, lick a stamp, and send it to:

Invisible Children 1810 Gillespie way Suite #205 El Cajon, CA 92020

Let us see how much money $5 can raise. If you are simply a computer person, we have a credit card donation set up on our website: www.invisiblechildren.com.

We love you all – and thank you for the support. We are pushing on knowing that thousands of you care about these children. Tony says “Hi, and he’s thankful we didn’t forget about him.�

Only two weeks left,

Jason, Bobby, Laren and the rest of the Invisible Team.

p.s. If you have any connections with Summer Camps, please try and let the IC office know, so we can get a DVD in the camp programmers hands. We might be able to be apart of their summer 2005 line up.