In recent days, the University of Wisconsin campus has exploded with talk of Joseph Kony, Invisible Children and the civil war that has been going on in Uganda for the past quarter of a century. Some have rallied in support of the work Invisible Children is doing to end child soldiering in Uganda. While Invisible Children is extremely flawed, though an organization with good intentions, I find myself taking issue with this debate. This is not only because it simplifies the politics of an entire continent, as well as an entire century of history, but because it also draws attention away from other African crises that, quite frankly, are far worse than the atrocities going on in Uganda.

Invisible Children lacks geopolitical understanding. The organization is focused on ending the Lord’s Resistance Army, which recruits child soldiers and is tied to Joseph Kony. While Kony is an evil man, and his army does do evil things, Invisible Children uses some of its donations to sponsor the Ugandan national army, which also rapes and pillages villages. Invisible Children also does not use 32 percent of its donations towards “fixing” the country, and it manipulates facts to make its case sound more appealing.

This debate, however, is hurting the continent of Africa because it is drawing attention away from other unthinkable atrocities. While I understand that Uganda is a very troubled nation, it is not by any means the most troubled nation in Africa.

Somalia is a failed state that currently has no government. The country is also in the midst of a civil war. The amount of poverty in Somalia is unthinkable. Pirates have started to take over parts of the state by means of terror. These pirates also recruit child soldiers. Most people who don’t follow politics know little to nothing about this crisis. Where is the outcry?

Zimbabwe has been at the hands of Robert Mugabe, a bloody tyrannical leader, for the past 25 years. Mugabe came to power by killing 20,000 members of his opposition and used violence to reward his supporters and silence his opposition. Mugabe is also head of perhaps the most financially corrupt regime in the world. He exploits his citizens – who are already in extreme poverty – to maximize his wealth, and oversaw the world’s largest occurrence of hyperinflation since Germany after World War I. Where is the outcry?

Ethiopia and Liberia are amongst the two poorest nations in the world. The average American makes more money in a week than the average Liberian makes in a year. Both countries have many people starving, homeless and without clean water. Where is the outcry?

The Sudanese civil war, which brought about the Darfur genocide, is on the verge of restarting just a year after peace agreements and the establishment of the South Sudan. Chad is in the midst of civil war and is extremely impoverished. Kenya, Somalia and other neighboring countries are in the midst of famine. Where are the outcries?

The Democratic Republic of the Congo uses money from banana trade to sponsor a civil war. It is also the poorest country in the world. It also has extremely repressive, sexist laws. If you genuinely care about the tranquility of the world and making Africa a better place, stop eating bananas.

Diamonds are often used to fund wars, rebels and terrorist groups. While the Kimberley Process has cleaned up the diamond trade, it is not perfect. If you truly are invested in the welfare of Africa, don’t buy diamonds.

Africa is the most troubled continent on the globe because of European colonization. Not only did Europe repress the native people and exploit them and their recourses in unthinkably horrific ways, they also drew the borders of the countries with no consideration to the people that lived there. African countries are barely countries. Tribal identity matters far more than national identity.

Invisible Children causes the politically apathetic to believe that they are making a difference by buying a T-shirt or liking a Facebook status, when in reality they are only further complicating the political structure of Africa. While their money could be better spent, they also draw the attention of the politically apathetic away from even more serious problems that the continent is facing.

I hope the work Invisible Children is doing helps the people of Uganda and end child soldiering in that state. However, I also wish politically apathetic people were as impassioned and angry about what is going on in Chad, Somalia, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ethiopia and scores of other African countries, as they are about what is going on in Uganda.

Spencer Lindsay ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in political science.