Displace Me
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On April 28, 2007, the nonprofit Invisible Children Inc. hosted the nationwide event Displace Me. In 15 cities across the United States, 68,000 individuals came together to raise awareness about the situation of the displacement camps in northern Uganda.
The event had three main goals:
– To educate participants about displacement camps in the North by simulating, as best as possible, the experience of living in an IDP camp.
– To create greater national and international attention of the humanitarian crises in northern Uganda.
– To garner the political attention needed to see a peaceful resolution to the war in northern Uganda, primarily through the appointment of one senior level U.S. diplomat.
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[edit] Locations
[edit] The Event
Displace Me was created to be an experiential event. To encourage the simulation, participants were asked to bring the following:
- Enough cardboard to build something the size of a small tent.
- A sleeping bag.
- A 1.5-liter bottle of water (with an airtight seal—to be collected upon entry).
- A box of saltine crackers (with sealed packaging—to be collected upon entry).
- A current photo of your wearing a white T-shirt with a red X.
With 15 locations across the United States, participants had to travel long distances to reach their “camps.” The traveling aspect was reflective of the displaced individuals in northern Uganda who were given 48 hours to leave their homes and relocate to displaced camps throughout the region.
Once Displace Me participants arrived at their camps, they built “huts” out of cardboard boxes.
Throughout the remainder of the night, participants were rationed food and water and heard, via video, personal testimonies from those living in the IDP camps in the North.
Other aspects of the event included a speech at every city from an individual personally connected with the conflict. Speakers included the Gulu District Chairman Norbert Mao, Invisible Children’s Ugandan Country Director Jolly Okot, and the Senior Adviser to the International Crisis Group John Prendergast, among others. First Lady Laura Bush also directly addressed the Displace Me participants via a prerecorded speech shown on video.
Participants concluded the night by writing letters to their government leaders and the President of Uganda, calling friends and family who weren’t aware of the conflict, as well as holding 21 minutes of silence for the 21 years of war.
During the night participants also helped film a video that was to be shown to members of the U.S. Senate. Participants in each city held up giant banners with their city's name and one to two phrases from the below statement. The video can be seen here.
The Message:
We are a movement of everyday heroes.
We are the never-before
Demanding the never-again.
After 21 years of war
1.5 million forced into camps
Are dying by the thousands.
We will not close our eyes to the emergency in Northern Uganda.
This isn't about guilt-
It's about faces with names.
The 50 American states
Are united in 15 cities.
(List all cities.)
We are displaced
Because they are displaced.
The time has come for peace.
Apathy has become activism.
We go without food
We go without water
For the Invisible Children who go without.
We forego our comforts, and forego our beds
For equality
Freedom
And justice for all.
We stand on our forefathers' shoulders
To declare that all men are created equal.
We ask:
Peace in Northern Uganda
Protection of its citizens
And a plan to bring them home.
Every war has an end.
[edit] Official Links and Resources
- Displace Me Website
- Invisible Children Website
- Invisible Children MySpace Profile
- Invisible Children Facebook
- Displace Me Starter Kit
- Displace Me Pre-Event Video
- IC in DC Video
- Displace Me Aftermath Video
[edit] Related Wikipedia Sites
- Invisible Children Inc.
- Schools for Schools
- Invisible Children - The Documentary
- Global Night Commute
- Lords Resistance Army
- Military use of children
- Acholiland
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