A 20-year wait to be rescued

Hundreds of teenagers kicked off a worldwide protest, The Rescue, by camping out in the rain at Auckland’s Aotea Square on Anzac Day.

The event, organised by The Invisible Children group, aimed to draw attention to the fate of children in Uganda who are abducted to become child soldiers.

The group estimates that around 30,000 children have been forced to become child soldiers by a rebel group known as the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) over the last 20 years

Auckland and Christchurch were the first of 100 cities around the world to launch the protests.

The coordinator of the Auckland event, Melody Cooper, 23, was excited to launch the protests. “It’s cool leading the way, knowing 98 other cities are following us. It’s such a experiment for peace.”

A group of predominantly young protesters marched from Mt Eden’s Tahaki Reserve to Aotea Square.

The group camped out all night in the rain until prominent members of the media and public turned up to “rescue” them.

Even after the media arrived many protesters stayed outside in the rain well into the next morning.

The Invisible Children was originally the name of a documentary which gathered enough attention to create the now worldwide group.

Melody Cooper first got involved with the Invisible Children movement at its head office in San Diego.

On returning to New Zealand she sought out like minds and established an Auckland base for The Invisible Children.

For the last three months she has been touring New Zealand and Australia with three other volunteers.

The group has been showing The Rescue DVD at schools, universities, pubs, and churches, with up to seven screenings a day.

Abigail Manchester, 21, has been in charge of the artistic side of the Auckland movement.

She first got involved while she lived in England and says the aims of the group are something she feels really passionate about.

“It shocked me to see how nothing was done for these kids, so I jumped at the opportunity to help.”

Manchester has been working at volunteer locations making T-shirts, banners, and organising the interactive art projects that were completed throughout the protest.

She says being in Auckland to start the protest was a privilege. “It’s something New Zealand can be proud of.”

The Rescue is the third event staged by the group to raise awareness of the plight of these child soldiers.

In 2006 it staged The Global Night Commute and Displace Me in 2007.