Blood in the Mobile

[Tìtstewan]

Blood in the Mobile

SYNOPSIS

Phones are financing war in DR Congo

We love our cell phones and the selection between different models has never been bigger. But the production of phones has a dark, bloody side.

The main part of minerals used to produce cell phones are coming from the mines in the Eastern DR Congo. The Western World is buying these so-called conflict minerals and thereby finances a civil war that, according to human rights organisations, has been the bloodiest conflict since World War II: During the last 15 years the conflict has cost the lives of more than 5 million people and 300.000 women have been raped. The war will continue as long as armed groups can finance their warfare by selling minerals.

If you ask the phone companies where their suppliers get minerals from, none of them can guarantee that they aren't buying conflict minerals from the Congo.

The Documentary Blood in the Mobile shows the connection between our phones and the civil war in the Congo. Director Frank Poulsen travels to DR Congo to see the illegal mine industry with his own eyes. He gets access to Congo's largest tin-mine, which is being controlled by different armed groups, and where children work for days in narrow mine tunnels to dig out the minerals that end up in our phones.

After visiting the mine Frank Poulsen struggles to get to talk to Nokia, the Worlds largest phone company. Frank Poulsen wants them to guarantee that they are not buying conflict minerals and thereby is financing the war in the Congo. Nokia cannot give him that guarantee.

Source: http://bloodinthemobile.org/


For French spaking people: http://future.arte.tv/fr/sujet/smartphone-equitable-est-ce-possible (not only about this film but also interesting! For 90 days available!)
For German speaking people: http://future.arte.tv/de/thema/fair-produzierte-smartphones-und-tablets-geht-das (nicht nur über diesen Film, aber genau so interessant! Verfügbar für 90 Tage!)
For other countries: http://bloodinthemobile.org/the-film/watch-the-film/


I just saw this film on Arte.tv and I can only quote Neytiri: Sad, sad only.
For our mobile phones died milions of people and the companies hide their supplier lists. In the film is only Nokia mentioned, but in this "dirty game" also other companies like Samsung, Apple, HTC etc.
Coltan is the source for tantalum which is used for capacitors and cassiterite is the source for tin.

I really wondering, why a lots of people buy every six month a new mobile or tablet...
Anyway, I hope this film (and these other articles) let awake them from the deam to buy much electronic stuff so often.

[Niri Te]

 There is a good future to this story, There ate TWO companies that have mineral rights to three mountains right here in Hudspeth county, Texas. They have done exploratory drilling, NOT strip mining, and found SIGNIFICANT rare earth mineral deposits under each of the three mountains. These deposits mined by tunneling in the seams, NOT by strip mining. The companies have been given the go ahead for the second stage of proving that they can do this cleanly, BEFORE they are given revokable permission to go to full scale mining. That would put several HUNDRED unemployed Texans in the POOREST County in the State, to work, getting them OFF the Welfare rolls, and shifting the supply of these materials to the State of Texas, from China, and Africa.

[Ateyo Te Syaksyuk]

It is sad to see children exploited for these minerals.
We don't know which manufacturing companies will be supplied by Hudspeth rare earth minerals,
but I hope it will make a positive difference in their futures.

[Eywayä tìmwiä]

When I first saw this, I thought it meant like Blood in the Car, like a Bloodmobile where you donate blood.  This post is not a Bloodmobile.  This is really sad and I feel bad for having a phone, while children are slaving away for the minerals in my phone.  This really changed my point of view on things.