A Rough Past

"Congo's Conflict Mineral Fund Rebels' Brutal War, Use of Child Soldiers in Sub Saharan Africa"

- The Huffington Post

The device that one is using to read this blog post, is most probably an aspect of one's blood and suffering in the country of Congo. Diamonds are not the only minerals which are the source of violence and conflict in sub- Saharan Africa. In the October issue of National Geographic, Jefferey Gettlemen journeys to Congo, where the mines uncover treasures such as cobalt, copper and even gold. However one mineral, which is even more valuable than any stone and jewelry is a minerall called tantalum. Tantalum is used to make microchips for electronics. Unfortunately, these incredible  and powerful device creates the worlds most humanitarian crisis in one of the worlds most atrocious nations on the earth. 

Gettlemen's expedition to Congo was not exactly too much of an "adventure." While driving through the grassy terrains of the nation, child soldiers would be hiding in the tall bushes with a gun in one hand and a bundle of marijuana in the other. The children ranged from about fourteen to fifteen years with tattered clothes and dirt all over their fragile bodies. This scene that Jefferey Gettlemen witnessed was on the road to Bavi, a rebel-controlled gold mine on the Democratic- Republic of Congo's wild east. Congo is sub- Saharan Africa's richest country on paper, because of its contant flow of diamonds, gold, copper, tin, tantalum and most of the worlds widely used minerals. However because of the neverending wars and feuds, it is one of the most traumatized nations in the world. Understanding that the milita- controlled mines are feeding raw materials and minerals to the entire world for electronics and jewelry is what contributes to the chaos. Turns out that the phones, tablets and computers that are widely used by society in this day of age, has had a remarkably tragic and traumatizing past.

October 5, 2013
By: Kavitha A. Davidson