W/C 04.02.19
5. Guilt |
Weekly Event: |
'Blood in the mobile' - a documentary film which exposes the link between the civil war in Congo and our mobiles, directed by Frank Poulsen
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this guilty as a consumer. I spend a significant amount of my time with blood in my hands – quite literally because the minerals in my phone have most probably come from mines in the Congo where people are essentially trapped in slavery. But the guilt doesn’t come from this discovery, it comes with the knowledge that I’m not going to do anything about it. I’m not going to give up my phone, I’m completely addicted. A phone full of blood minerals is better than no phone at all.
Am I really putting my need for constant communication before the basic rights of so many human life’s? Of course, with no pressure from consumers, the phone companies aren’t going to change – they’re only going to fork out for ethically sourced minerals if we demand it. Perhaps our guilt needs to be passed on to them. Poulsen meets with corporates at Nokia who are full of nice sincerity that would clearly never translate in action. But maybe in a capitalist society it would be naive to expect change from within; the chances are that anyone important in a phone company making arguments to stop funding war in the Congo through buying these minerals might not have their job for too long. The film was made 9 years ago, and nothing’s really changed. I think it’s easier to forget how closely connected we are. We know there’s conflict in the Congo but it’s easier to tell ourselves that it’s far away and unrelated to us. Maybe in a few weeks’ time I’ll look at my phone and have forgotten the horrific events in Congo which cost the lives of more than 5 million people. |