I have grown more callous as I grow older and keep hearing bad news from around the world. But every so often a story still finds a way to break my heart. This one is from Africa's broken heart Congo. I have been mostly following Zimbabwe's conflict, Congo unfortunately, has been fighting so long it has moved off to the back burner. But today on NPR I heard a number that shocked me. 5.4 million have died in Congo civil war! 5.4 million people have died since 1998 and the world has barely noticed! Before you say it's because it's not part of the world economy I have news for you, you couldn't read this without Congo.
You see Congo is a major source of Coltan as sourced from wikipedia
Coltan is the colloquial African name for columbite-tantalite, a metallic ore used to produce the elements niobium and tantalum. Mineral concentrates containing tantalum are usually referred to as 'tantalite'[1]. In appearance, coltan is a dull black mineral. The exportation of coltan helped fuel the war in the Congo, a crisis that has resulted in approximately 5.4 million[2] deaths since 1998 – making it the world’s deadliest documented conflict since WW II. Coltan is the ore for tantalum used in consumer electronics products such as cell phones, DVD players, and computers.
The Congo is a politically unstable area. The Rwandan occupation in the east of the Congo has meant the DRC has been unable to exploit the resource for its own benefit. A recent UN Security Council report[5] charged that a great deal of the ore is mined illegally and smuggled over the country's eastern borders by militias from neighbouring Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.[6]
Coltan smuggling has also been implicated as a major source of income for the military occupation of Congo. To many, this raises ethical questions akin to those of conflict diamonds. Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate mining operations, several electronics manufacturers have decided to forgo central African coltan altogether, relying on other sources.[citation needed] The high-tech industry's demand for tantalum clearly has fueled an increase in coltan mining worldwide - including in the Congo region.
Coltan is used to make Tantalum. Without Tantalum, your cell phones, and personal computers would not work. It's only found in 3 places in world in mineable quatities. Chile, Australia, and Congo.
All three countries named by the United Nations as smugglers of coltan have denied being involved. Austrian journalist Klaus Werner has documented links between multi-national companies like Bayer and the illegal coltan traffic [7]. Likewise has Johann Hari written on the connections between coltan resources and the genocide in Congo [8] [9]. A United Nations committee investigating the plunder of gems and minerals in the Congo listed in its final report[5] approximately 125 companies and individuals involved in business activities breaching international norms. Companies accused of unresponsible corporate behavior are for example Cabot Corporation, Eagle Wings Resources International[10], George Forrest Group[11] and OM Group[12].
This brings me to the NPR story. Not only have 5.4 million people died due to a mineral as important to the modern war as oil. But the people exploiting it are using rape as a weapon. Even places like Sierra Leone, and Rwanda talk about at "least they are not living in a place as brutal as Congo!
Rape Used as a Weapon in Congo's Civil War
All Things Considered, June 25, 2004 · There are reports that mutinous soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo raped women Bukavu after seizing the city earlier this month. Rape has been a part of earlier conflicts as well. During Congo's civil war, which officially ended in 2002, rape and the fear of rape often kept women from working in the fields. Crops failed as a result, and many children died of malnutrition. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.
But Sierra Leone also should give us hope. Thanks to people who cared, the amount of blood diamonds went from 10-15% of world wide sales to less then 2%. Pressure on companies, and raising awareness can helpd stop this bloody coltan from being used. I have included a link to an organization that is trying to raise awareness on this issue.
WE CAN STOP THIS!
Friends of the Congo