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Film brings atrocities against children to light

By ALEXANDRA ZAYAS
Published April 14, 2006

The children of northern Uganda are afraid of the dark. Every night, rebel soldiers pluck them out of their beds and force them into guerrilla warfare.

They turn into vicious, desensitized fighters as young as 8 years old.

It has been happening for 20 years.

Halfway across the world, the people of Tampa are in the dark. South Tampa activists Kate Cigoi and Becky Davis, both 26, said they have spoken to various groups, from college students to professional service organizations, and few have known of what the United Nations calls one of the world's "forgotten crises."

They're determined to shed some light on the plight of children in Uganda by showing the documentary Invisible Children: Rough Cut at a free screening Tuesday night at Channelside Cinemas.

The documentary was created by three young filmmakers who left California to explore Africa in 2003. What they saw inspired not only the movie but a national organization to draw U.S. attention to problems in Uganda.

Road teams from Invisible Children Inc. will travel to screenings throughout the country this month to discuss the project and introduce the film.

The documentary follows four young boys who were abducted and survived.

Members of the youth group at Van Dyke United Methodist Church in Lutz reacted with stunned silence, tears and anger upon viewing the film on DVD two months ago, youth pastor Mark Hessler said.

"It blew them away," he said. "They wanted to do something about it."

Since then, the 100 high school students have been raising money for the project through church collections. They plan to attend the film's showing Tuesday.

At the screening, local organizers will announce the Tampa location for the Global Night Commute on April 29, a vigil taking place in 136 cities nationwide.

Participants will lie on sleeping bags in public squares to simulate the "night commutes" African children make from their villages to nearby towns to sleep together and avoid being kidnapped. Global night commuters will write letters to children in Uganda and U.S. lawmakers.

More than 18,000 people have signed up nationally for the Global Night Commute, including Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell, according to the organization. In Tampa, 63 people have registered.

Making the children visible locally is the key, Cigoi said.

"Hopefully, people will read about this and see the screenings and be moved to do something," she said.

Alexandra Zayas can be reached at 813 226-3354 or azayas@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 13, 2006, 14:18:21]