A Letter to Representative McKeon

To Representative McKeon,

My name is Alexandra Coffin. I am a representative of the ICU Club at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, CA.

You may or may not know of our cause. We are a dedicated group of kids focused on bringing peace to Uganda, Africa. Our ultimate goal is to end the civil war that has ravaged the lives of Ugandan men, women, and children for over two decades. The war in Uganda is the single longest running civil war in Africa’s history.

The children in northern Uganda live in fear every day of the Lord’s Resistance Army, or the LRA. The LRA is the rebel army fighting against the racist Ugandan government. Their cause is a somewhat reasonable one, but their dwindling resources have forced LRA officers to abduct and train children to become killing machines. Child soldiery has been condemned worldwide-so why is our government staying silent?

The situation in Uganda is being called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. When word of this tragedy reached the students in ICU, it sparked an insatiable fire in our hearts and minds, an inferno raging on for change. Firsthand I have seen and felt the passion in our hearts for the people of northern Uganda. There is a primal instinct to scream for help for these people.

Yet, we are muffled. Our mouths are smothered by the reputation of apathy we are forced to bear. Political theorists see the apathy our generation breeds as the firsts sign of the fall of the American Empire. We look to our history, long for the dedication of the Greatest Generation. We mourn their deaths as if their legacy has fallen with them.

But they are not dead. We are here, we are alive! We are dedicated, passionate people who are willing to speak up for the rights of humanity. Our only hindrances are the chains that bind us, the borderlines of age and stereotype.

We are here!

Representative McKeon, we are begging for our chance to prove that we can save America. We are the future, but we cannot affect now without a voice. By the time our chance comes, it may be too late.

Americans have become inefficient, apathetic consumers. Our pride has become foolish and blind. But there is still hope.

We can restore the United States of America to the foundations of equality and unity we were built upon. We can return the American spirit to our society. Our passion for change reaches further than Uganda. We want to change the way the world views our fellow man.

But we need the voice we’ve lost from attempting to yell over the drone of our apathetic counterparts.

Our voice can be found, but not without your help, Representative McKeon. It is estimated that, in order to return displaced Ugandan citizens to their homes, it will take around $25 million, a portion of which can be given by our government. Even without the financial aid, we are asking for US support for the peace talks currently taking place in Juba, Sudan. You can contribute, Representative. You can help us.

Please, give us our voice. We can make change.

Sincerely,
Alexandra Coffin