Almost everywhere you look on campus, you can find someone glued to his or her cell phone. Our society has become so incredibly infatuated with technology, and yet we are so completely unaware of the fact that we are all directly contributing to one of the deadliest conflicts in the world.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a bloody conflict is fueled in significant part by the multi-million dollar trade in minerals, specifically tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, which are all key materials in electronic devices. Countless armed militias across the D.R.C. are in constant war with one another for greater control and access to these minerals and force people from their homes to gain more land. Thus our cell phones, computers and MP3 players are causing millions of brutal murders, violent rapes, mutilations and unspeakable crimes against the people of the Congo. In the last year alone, 900,000 Congolese were forced from their homes, and hundreds of thousands of women and girls were raped. These armed groups are committing a feminicide; our ignorance and indifference results in the greatest crime of all-the impunity of these monsters. Yet, we continue to exploit the Congolese people for their resources to satisfy our needs for the latest iPhone or video game system.
I am currently interning at the Enough! Project in Washington, D.C., an NGO who has worked tirelessly for the past four years to raise the profile of this issue and bring about change, but there is only so much we can do without help. We need the support of consumers to help put an end to these atrocities. We, as consumers, need to tell these electronic companies that we are not okay with their role in this violence. I’ve been writing a letter every day to the top electronics companies, urging them to take a stand but it takes more than one voice to make a difference. As voting constituents, we can also tell our senators and representatives to support the Conflict Minerals Trade Act. If passed in to law, the CMTA would give consumers the choice to purchase conflict-free products. The usage and production of which will destroy the fuel that propagates these crimes against humanity. For the sake of the Congo and human rights everywhere, we cannot continue to allow our cell phones, computers and MP3 players to be stained by the blood if the innocent Congolese people.
Carly Oboth SIS 2012
