1. Making Campuses Conflict-Free
The Conflict-Free Campus Initiative is a nation-wide campaign to build the consumer voice for conflict-free electronics – cell phones, laptops, and other devices that do not finance war in eastern Congo. It calls for the influence of student leadership and activism to convince university officials and stakeholders to commit to measures that pressure electronics companies to take responsibility for the minerals in their supply chains, which have been contributing to the ongoing war in Congo. Universities are also a large client for most electronics companies and represent a large portion of the buyers' market for consumer electronics. By raising a big voice as consumers, we can actually bring about a shift in corporate and government policy and help bring peace to Congo.
2. End the Violence Against Women
The United States along with the United Nations, European Union, and African Union must promote efforts to start a strong peace process by stepping up diplomacy and demobilize armed groups. They need to also fund programs that provide protection for these women, which will help to end sexual violence. One major step that needs to be taken is to pass the International Violence Against Women Act.
3. Support Better Livelihoods for Miners
Impoverished Congolese miners and their families are often entirely dependent on their meager income from mining, and they currently have few reliable economic alternatives to lift them out of this severe poverty. International investment should be stepped up in agricultural development initiatives and providing accessible education for these miners to enable them to pursue other ways of making money.
Would universities buy into restricting purchase from electronics companies that get minerals from the DRC? I believe they would not, because I am sure a majority of electronics companies get their minerals from the DRC and leaving the DRC would lower their production rate. The use of electronics is a nessicary for the college lifestyle and I think colleges would not buy in to restricting purchase from companies.
ReplyDeleteHow would you be able to not only convince the miners to attempt another occupation but also re-educate them to be able to do this. Coltan, as written in your introduction, is very expensive and abundant in DRC. This makes it a very easy source of income for the people of DRC and it is very unlikely that they will easily give up mining it, even if it means they have to continue mining it. Also, mining coltan and other minerals is what these people have done their whole life. Re-educating these already poorly uneducated adults due to their poverty will be near impossible. Aristophanes, an ancient Greek playwriter, once said, "You cannot teach a crab to walk straight." Like a crab who has only known to walk sideways, these DRC miners have only known mining and cannot be taught to do otherwise. A better solution is to end the conflict over coltan by having access to it be fair and balanced.
ReplyDeleteAlthough finding other ways of making a living is ideal for coltan miners, it is not as easy as it sounds. How can the multitudes of miners find well-paying jobs as replacements? Coltan is one of the most prominent crops in Congo, and if one is to take into consideration the number of electronics there are in the world, they would come to the conclusion that coltan mining can not be stopped. There is too much of a demand for it, even if it is unfortunately one of the main causes of the DRC war. Not to mention the fact that it is one of the only jobs in the area. A intermediary, Blanchard, buys and sells coltan in the upcountry and Goma. He says," It's our only way of making a living" and,"There's nothing else to do here."
ReplyDeletePerhaps a different approach to helping out the miners is to increase funding and to make sure they are secured. Bandits have been known to dress up as military officials and to take coltan from innocent farmers and sell it, even though it is not rightly theirs. To have security and a more organized system of mining would be ideal. Also, to make wages increase for farmers would ensure that there would be plenty of coltan for anyone who needs it, and that way both sides of the war are content on this issue.