Seattle University Student Joins Call for Peace in Northern Uganda
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) October 5, 2006
On October 10, groups for northern Uganda will congregate in the nation’s capital for the country’s Lobby Day. Locally, Seattle University junior Kathleen Chan will fly to D.C. to join with her nonprofit as a representative of the nonprofit’s presence in Seattle.
Chan will join Americans from 40 states to take part in what is one of the biggest lobby days ever, called the Northern Uganda Lobby Day and Symposium. Participants will be meeting with their Congressional representatives and urging them to take action to bring an end to the violence. Chan will meet with representatives Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray of Washington.
The 20 year war in northern Uganda between the rebel Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan Government has forced two million people from their homes and led to the deaths of at least 200,000 people. The LRA has abducted more than 30,000 children and has used them as child soldiers and sexual slaves. In response to LRA terror, the Ugandan government has confined 1.5 to two million northern Ugandans to internally displaced persons camps.
“The situation in Uganda is appalling, and yet, the United States is completely silent on the issue,” said Chan. “Two decades is two decades too long for children to be kidnapped and forced to kill. Cantwell and Murray need to act now.”
Chan will fly to DC to join with San Diego-based grassroots documentary group, Invisible Children, as a representative of the organization’s Seattle presence. Invisible Children started in 2003 when three filmmakers from Southern California flew to Africa in search of a story that would change the world. What they found was a situation in northern Uganda that both disgusted and inspired them. They documented their findings of a 20-year-long war where children are both the weapons and the victims. “Invisible Children: Rough Cut” was the result. After seeing the impact of their film worldwide, they formed the non-profit Invisible Children Inc.
Chan, a communications major, first heard of Invisible Children last year through her sister, who works for the nonprofit in San Diego. Since then, she’s been steadily increasing her involvement with the organization, first through screenings set up at SU that drew over 215 from the school and surrounding community, and then chairing the media committee for the organization’s overnight vigil, the Global Night Commute, held earlier this year in April. The event drew over 80,000 people worldwide in over 130 cities. She now coordinates screenings of the documentary for the Seattle area.
The current peace talks between the Government of Uganda and Lords Resistance Army (LRA) being held in Juba, South Sudan are seen by many as the best opportunity in over a decade to end the war. International pressure on both parties to keep working towards peace and adhering to the ceasefire is vital, yet the United States has not given any public support to the peace process.
Chan can be contacted by phone at (408) 318-3294.
For an interview with the Uganda Lobby Day organizers or more information:
Contact Caroline Green on +1 202 321 7858 or
Michael Poffenberger at Africa Faith and Justice Network Ph: (202) 884 9775
Visit web site: http://www.ugandalobbyday.com/
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Originally posted 2011-08-13 02:16:02.
