Congo in Crisis: Why your Cell Phone is Part of the Problem

[sunflowerofpeace]

don't have one...thank you for video..cheers from Canada :)..reminds me of the blood diamond issue...

[newsblaze]

Will not work.

If you succeed in shutting off US purchases, what will that do to the economy? Those in control of the resources will ship them elsewhere. Just as you can't shut down the arms trade, you can't shut down the metals trade. Traders will hope you succeed so price of these Congo resources drop, make more profit. They will make it untraceable. The bad guys will not stop what they are doing.

If you can't stop illegal drugs entering the US, how to stop trade in high value metals?

[ericderen]

Doing my part... I haven't bought a new cell phone in 5 years. I'm waiting for iPhone 4.0. THAT should be an amazing phone & OS combo. And hopefully they will have stopped "raping for mining" by then.

[MrBigBobba]

that is what the whole movement is; urging the major manufacturers of electronic not to use the conflict minerals

[fernfeyes]

Do your part by recycling all your electronics..the scrap is sent to China and India where children separate the minerals.

[babylo0n71407]

What can we do to help put an end to this brutality?

[mostradicalmanever]

Food for thought.

IF this capital is taken away from these criminals fighting over the conflict minerals, aren't they just going to move to another arena to perpetrate crime? After all, this doesn't eliminate the perpetrators but only takes away one avenue of their income. Similar to making alcohol illegal, moved the criminals into other areas of making money. They didn't just go "oh geese, there goes that revenue, I guess I have to go straight now!"

[postrealitysyndrome]

Not in this case I'd presume, since these minerals are the primary source of income in the region. The military factions are locals to the region, from the Congo or neighboring countries to the east. Furthermore, this is not an issue of prohibition of these materials, merely a strict accounting of its sources so the profit is taken away from the militant groups.

[Wysiwyg2012]

Although the conflict minerals are a major reason so many are suffering in the east, this country as a whole is in termoil. Hundreds of thousands of people walk the streets every day selling and trading whatever they can get their hands on just so they can get something to eat. There is theft everywhere, it is not even safe to walk the streets alone in the daytime. The police and military shake down their own people for money. The problem here is government.

[411314]

This is a case of a group of savages slaughtering innocent people, not "savages slaughtering each other", which implies that both sides are responsible.

[futbolangel02]

Some of you people here in the comments are making me sick. Are you really that stupid or do you just play stupid on Youtube? If I can figure out the problem here then all of you should be able to do the same. Oh, wait, I actually care about the people in Africa. People are dying because of greed and America is the biggest perpetrator of greed. America is never going to come out of this hole it is in because no one cares about anything but themselves and money. Selfish, greedy and ignorant.

[ExadusX]

You live in the UK, buddy. The UK had a massive African empire. A lot of the problems are a result of European imperialism (But in some cases, imperialism was better).

[futbolangel02]

It's a mad world. I live in the UK this year. I am an American...one of the 10% that has a passport and visa. There are so many issues in this world and I would love to see people taking individual responsibilities seriously. America is so free that Americans forget that their actions are felt beyond their backyard. Those lines on the maps...they are imaginary.

[futbolangel02]

No one is asking you to stop using your cell phone. Listen here...the object is to influence the electronic companies to find different materials to make the cell phones with. You get it? Do you realize the power of a group of like minded people? Who is teaching you? They are failing miserably. This is just a step towards the solution. Not the solution itself. It is going to take a lot of work from the American people and I don't think Americans have it in them to get the job done. Yee haw. :o)

[411314]

I think the point is to get companies to buy the materials from somewhere else, not necessarily to use different materials. From what I've read, there are ethical sources of coltan, at least in countries other then Congo.

[maxtreme225]

You kinda missed the point. She is in no way asking you to not buy electronics. She is asking us to demand that corporations making these electronics clean up their supply chains, meaning that they don't buy the minerals that would otherwise benefit the military that are killing and raping innocent Congolese.

[Mechjoo]

She is asking us to use our 'end-user' buying power by not purchasing these items until the company's change their supply chain. I think it's pretty clear that this involves not purchasing a product, I can't see a company changing it's methods if people are still buying its product, do you?

[boduccia7]

Ah ha! and all the trouble started here "In 1960, the country was in a very unstable state—regional tribal leaders held far more power than the central government—and with the departure of the Belgian administrators, there were almost no skilled bureaucrats left in the country. The first Congolese university graduate was only in 1956, and virtually no one in the new nation had any idea of how to manage a country of such size."

[boduccia7]

Hummm So not having a stable government has nothing to do with this issue? Its all someone elses fault. I have a funny idea that maybe, just maybe theyve been killing each other in the Congo long before cell phones and computers have been around.

[futbolangel02]

There is more than one part to this issue. This is just one thing that we, as private citizens, can do to not add to the misery. Am I the only one that gets this? Am I the only one that realizes the steps and my own personal responsibilities when it comes to relieving suffering in the world?We are failing miserably as a race of people. I think it is because the people (villages)that raised us didn't love and nurture us properly. Look at the big picture and see what you can do to change things.

[robelicit]

h3y,, gr3at WORK----if you KEEP telling folks that these crimes ARE connected to OUR daily use of our Cell-Phones & iPods, we will FINALLY reach the average music-listeners & tons of cell-phone kids THAT otherwise just can't connect SERIOUS issues (like conflict in CONGO) to the daily life of music fans & web & cell phone users here in the U.S...KEEP up the g00d + smart work;-)

[luannhunt]

This is something for us all to consider. Thanks for sharing!

[Chitidfg]

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Very Lovely