When you see the African children squeezed into a large, otherwise empty room and sleeping next to and on top of each other, you may believe you are seeing a documentary of a time when Africans were kidnapped and made to live in such conditions.
But these children are there voluntarily.
They have run away from home under the cover of night to escape kidnappers in northern Uganda.
The images are from the documentary "Invisible Children" which is produced by a non-profit organization of the same name. A showing of the film, and a question â€" and â€" answer session, will be held in Faulkner Lounge at 7 p.m., Saturday.
The stop is part of a national tour to promote awareness of the children's needs, spur individual action and to provide aid.
From the film, viewers will learn that in northern Uganda, the Lord's Resistance Army has been leading rebellions against the government. Aside from many human rights abuses including murder, mutilation and rape, the United Nations has estimated that more than 20,000 children have been kidnapped and forced to participate in the LRA.
The "night commuters," however, flee from small villages to cities to find greater protection.
Jeremiah Nichols, a junior sociology major, asked Invisible Children to bring the film to Memphis after he saw it at a national conference in Nashville. Four speakers will come to The University of Memphis and Rhodes College.
"It blew me away," Nichols said. "It's so cool to see people go in with an apathetic attitude and then there is this total change. You have to do something. You want to do something."
The cross-country movie/lecture tour is the cornerstone of the campaign. With the sales of DVDs and donations the group plans to send 100,000 children to school by 2007.
Invisible Children also sells bracelets made by the children. The proceeds go directly to the children.
According to Christopher Kargel who works at the organization's headquarters, when the children are asked what they want to do with the money they earn, they unanimously answer that they want to get an education.
Beyond the film tour, the group plans to raise awareness through a 100-city march, known as the Global Night Commute, in April.
"To represent the journey of the 'night commuters,' we will walk through the city to the downtown area and spend the night to form a silent protest," Kargel said.
Nichols plans to lead Memphis in the march, and Marian Stillman, a sophomore English major is helping him promote it.
Stillman has 3' x 4' poster for "Invisible Children" on the wall outside her dorm room. She saw the film when Nichols first screened it after the conference.
"When I was younger, I didn't want to be bothered by what went on in the world, but I know, when I see stories like these, I can't close my mind and my eyes any longer," she said.
