Ugandan war protest tomorrow
Tomorrow night, Northwest Arkansas will be among over 130 sites in the nation where citizens will participate in the "Global Night Commute" to call for an end to the use of child soldiers in Northern Uganda.
200 people are expected to sleep outside on Old Main lawn and some people will march to Fayetteville from as far away as Rogers and Springdale. Their experience is intended to simulate what the child soldiers have had to endure every day during the 20-year war.
Marchers can meet at the Fellowship Bible Church in Rogers at 10 a.m., the Pontiac Coffee House in Springdale at 1 p.m. and the Evelyn Hills Shopping Center in Fayetteville at 6 p.m.
Comments
Isn't it supposed to rain like the dickens? If it does, will people still show? I'd love to join.
Posted by: anon | April 28, 2006 02:48 PM
I'm one of the organisers of the event...
It is a RAIN OR SHINE event... the kids in uganda walk through rain too....
we will be out in force....even if it rains, march and all....
we will have tarps
Posted by: Mervin Jebaraj | April 28, 2006 03:23 PM
There will be a group in LittleRock, too. They are meeting at MacArthur Park at 7 pm on Saturday.
They have a Myspace site, which I found hard to read. This one is easier:
http://www.xanga.com/LRInvisibleChildren
Posted by: Megling | April 28, 2006 03:40 PM
Mervin,
We need to bring tents, food, etc.?
Posted by: Ron Cardwell, Jr. | April 28, 2006 05:06 PM
God Bless the spirits of the people doing this. Forcing children to be soldiers is unholy.
Vios Con Dios Compadres!
Posted by: Anonymous | April 28, 2006 09:58 PM
This is supposed to be a "simulation," right? If you want to be accurate, leave the tents and food behind. And your coat, your comfortable hiking boots, your cool backpack/fanny pack, your laptop, your PDA, your cell phone, your pager, your camera, your insulated coffee mug full of Starbucks coffee (or warm beverage of choice), your wallet, your credit cards, your money, your car keys, etc., etc., etc.
Can you do it?
Oh, and if we want to get even more accurate, forget MacArthur Park or Old Main. Find some very dark, high crime area of the city, roam around a while and then spend the night in a vacant lot in the rain.
Can you do it?
Some "simulation." Just call it what it is... a PR event. A PR event for a good cause certainly, but still a PR event where people can attend and feel good about themselves for participating in the "cause of the month." Let's not fool ourselves into even thinking we have even the remotest idea of what these children experience or that we can simulate it without joining them in some hellhole in Uganda.
Sorry... I tend to be very cynical about these type of events, even if the cause is a good one (like this one). I assume donations will be taken so at least some good will come out of it. That, and awareness raised if there is some media coverage.
(Raised, that is, until immigration demonstrations start up again and the ADD public shifts focus.)
Posted by: hk | April 28, 2006 10:29 PM
We are disocuraging tents to better simulate the experience of the children in Uganda. There will be tarps to shield from the (maybe) rain. We recommend having bottles of water and a snack, but not food, again for a better simulation.
This event has two purposes:
To raise awareness and to show solidarity. We dont pretend that we know what the children go through and we never will, but we will do our part in letting the world know about this conflict that has been raging for 20 years.
Posted by: Mervin Jebarj | April 29, 2006 04:29 AM
Cynicism aside... I pray the event succeeds beyond expections. Here and elsewhere.
Posted by: hk | April 29, 2006 10:45 AM