Conflict Minerals

Hey!
I haven't posted in forever, so I thought that I should post this essay I wrote for school. Its about Conflict Minerals. Tell me if you like it!

Conflict Minerals: Leaving a scar on Congo 

Have you ever wondered where your computer came from? Ever picked up your phone and thought, Who made this? Companies sell your electronics and design them, But the materials to make them come from very far. In Congo, a country in Africa, hidden beneath the ground are the minerals that make your Electronic devices. The 3 TG’s,- Tin, Tungsten, Tantalum and Gold. But they don't come without a price, thousands of Congolese people are forced to mine for them, as slaves. And the money they make? It’s used to buy guns and rifles, to give to children so they can become soldiers and fight in the war. That why these minerals are called conflict minerals, they are the cause for the conflict in Congo. Because of its wealth in naturals resources, The Congo is considered the poorest nation in the world. 

You would have thought that because of these minerals the Congo is blessed with good wealth, But that is wrong. Instead of a blessing these minerals are a curse. All men and boys are forced to work at gun point being shot if they even try to escape.They are given almost nothing for their work. The younger boys are given guns are forced to fight in the war, while Congo is the most dangerous place to be a girl. The Congolese people have no say in how they are treated. We thought slavery was over but no one looked deep enough. There is war in Congo, so the rebels thought that they could take all the people and force them to mine so that they could make money for war supplies. 

Even the greatest Companies have their secrets. This is a secret of many companies that make the best electronic devices, Companies pay to get the conflict minerals even though they know 

how they are mined. ‘Apple’ is one of the world's most famous, but it doesn't benefit everyone. People in congo suffer because of these companies. Children who could have been the next masterminds of the world were forced to forget their dreams are focus on risking their lives to fight. Because only a very few children have a chance to go to school, there are not many good schools in Congo. People have to carry sacks of minerals which way up to 200 pounds up a mountain so that they can get to the trucks, since they can't even afford to get a cart. 

Congolese people have said that they do not want this to stop, they want to be paid the right amount of money at the right time for all the hard work they do. Out of the two million dollars that the stores make only 35% goes to congo, then when that is distributed among the people there is often not enough for everyone, as little as 0.3% is distributed to the people. There have been a total 5.4 million because of conflict minerals. People often get a job to mine because they are afraid of being forced to fight in war and think it is better to work than to die. Many girls in Congo say that their lives are useless and people treat them like dolls throwing them everywhere and selling their bodies so that they can get money for their family. 

Every single day people in Congo suffer because of Conflict Minerals, But the real creators of these problems are the people who use these conflict minerals. That’s us. We are the real cause for the conflict in Congo, and we can fix this for them. Next time you go to buy a device, ask for a Conflict Free one. Remember, you can trade one laptop for the lives of 10,000 people. 

Works Cited 

Dibinga, Omekongo Dr. Interview on Conflict minerals, 1/31 

www.raisehopeforcongo.org 2/23

Ford, Jessica. Background on Conflict minerals 

https://www.sourceintelligence.com/what-are-conflict-minerals/ 2/20 

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/conflict-minerals/gettleman-text 2/24 

https://thinkprogress.org/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-conflict-minerals-76b1c6f89a2e #.1fy8lxmw8 2/20