While we all love our cell phones, laptops computers and other ubiquitous technologies, there is a side to them that we don’t regularly think about. While they make our daily lives convenient and enjoyable and are ‘essential’ to our American lifestyle, not all people benefit from this increase in technology use as we do.

Blood Minerals

In the 1990s in Sierra Leone, Angola and other locations in Africa, dirty mining of diamonds fueled rebel groups and extreme violence.  These diamonds costs many innocent citizen’s their lives, and as a result they were termed “blood diamonds” (Diamondfacts.org, Conflict Diamonds).

The issue that calls out to us today is a similar one, but dealing with a different valuable mineral. All cell phones, laptop computers, blackberries, IPods, and other electronic technologies have an electronic circuit board that requires certain minerals, among them coltan and cassiterite (more commonly known as tin ore). These minerals are found in many locations around the world, but one specific location has alarming problems (Shah, The Democratic Republic of Congo).

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the land is very mineral rich. Unfortunately, it is also a location that has been torn by war throughout it’s history.

In the course of these wars often termed Africa’s World War, horrible human rights abuses have continuously occurred. These include the killing of civilians, rape of African women, the use of child soldiers, and extensive violence. One of the ways these wars have been financed is through the illegal exploitation of the countries rich mineral base (Shah, The Democratic Republic of Congo). “The unregulated nature of the mining sector in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, combined with the breakdown of law and order and the devastation caused by war, has meant that these groups have had unrestricted access to these minerals and have been able to establish lucrative trading networks.” (Global Witness Limited, Faced With A Gun…). See Full Report. Mainly rebel army groups, but also corrupt government military soldiers have exploited miners, forcing them to work in life threatening, inhuman conditions, with little to no pay. The minerals are sold, and the money made goes to fueling the wars (Shah, The Democratic Republic of Congo). These minerals were sold to second party vendors, and by they time they reached the electronic manufacturing companies, there was little thought of where the minerals came from. Unregulated, it is difficult to prevent the use of these “blood minerals” in our electronics (Abranches, Minerals of Blood in Our Computers and Cell Phones?). Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images, source

Why Does This Matter To Us?

That computer you are reading this on, the phone resting in your pocket, or your MP3 player in your backpack, are all linked to these “blood minerals”. While not all of our electronics hold minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo, they point is they could (Ginsberg, Healthy Texting, Conflict Minerals, Ecological Intelligence, Blue Sweaters and Doing the Right Thing). We have no way of tracking where our electronics materials come from. In good news, some companies have recognized this concern and have pledged to avoid conflict minerals. These include Apple, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Philips, RIM, Sony, Telefonica, Western Digital and Xerox (Abranches, Minerals of Blood in Our Computers and Cell Phones?).However, with little actual international enforcement, even this movement is more lip service than actual action. Currently there is no reliable way to know if the coltan and cassiterite in our electronics was traded illegally (Abranches, Minerals of Blood in Our Computers and Cell Phones?).  The U.N. is aware of this issue, and has taken steps toward regulating and stopping this atrocity. The link to their report on the Illegal exploitation of resources in the Democratic of Congo can be found here.(United Nations, Security Council Resolution S/2003/1027).

As we continue to discuss, invent, and use new literacy technologies, it is vitally important to think about all people affected by the production, not just the consumers. While we may enjoy our technology, there are important social implications to an increase in use. No, I’m not asking everyone to stop using cell phones or computers — just to be aware that they may not be as benign as one often thinks. We are intrinsically linked to the political and social conflicts all over the world, whether we like it or not. It is our responsibility as consumers to choose and use in a socially responsible manner.

Video to learn more.

Direct link here: Congo’s Tin Soldiers (Part 2).

Bibliography

Abranches, Sergio. “Minerals of Blood in Our Computers and Cell Phones?”Ecopolity.com. 23 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2010.http://www.ecopolity.com/2010/03/23/minerals-of-blood-in-our-computers-and-cell-phones/

“Conflict Diamonds.” DiamondFacts.org. Web. 14 Apr. 2010.http://www.diamondfacts.org/conflict/index.html.

Feferberg, Eric. “Workers Pass Buckets of Mud.” 17 Nov. 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2010.http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/11/congo-looting-minerals.php.

Ginsburg, J. A. “Phone Riff: Hope Phones, Healthy Texting, Conflict Minerals,Ecological Intelligence, Blue Sweaters and Doing the Right Thing.” Tracker Editor’s Blog. 26 May 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. http://trackerblog.trackernews.net/2009/05/26/phone-riff/.

Global Witnesses Limited. “”Faced with a Gun, What Can You Do?” – War and theMilitarisation of Mining in Eastern Congo.” ReliefWeb. 20 July 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/ASHU-7U64ZJ?OpenDocument.

Shah, Anup. “The Democratic Republic of Congo.” Global Issues : Social, Political,Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. 27 Mar. 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. http://www.globalissues.org/article/87/the-democratic-republic-of-congo

United Nations. Panel on Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources of the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. Security Council Resolution S/2003/1027. By Mahmoud Kassem, Kofi Annan, Andrew Danino, Alf Gorsjo, Mel Holt, Bruno Schlemsky, and Ismaila Seek. 2003. United Nations. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/2003/1027.

Wiepning, Nadine. “Blood Cell Phones 2.” The Dominion Paper. 19 October 2008.Web. 14 Apr. 2010. http://www.dominionpaper.ca/images/2223.