What's Happening?
So, what is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo? Why was this website created? Currently the citizens of Congo have been attacked by their own kind. There is an ongoing war in Congo with 6 million fatalities and counting. The war has been characterized by torture, rape, genocide, and enslavement. But why is the war happening? For profit. We coined our website title "Conflict in Congo" as a double-entendre. One meaning is the literal conflict that is occurring in Congo, the war. The other meaning deals with what the war is fought over, often referred to as conflict minerals. Conflict minerals can be memorized as the three T's: tin, tantalum, and tungsten (gold is also considered a conflict mineral in Congo). You may wonder, how much of these minerals do I really use? Well, if you are viewing this website then the answer is probably a lot. Electronics are composed of many of the conflict minerals previously listed. That is why conflict minerals are so profitable. But why are the conflict minerals bad? In Congo, conflict free minerals are a part of a vicious cycle. The armies harvest conflict minerals and sell them on the international market. They then use the money that they make to fuel their campaigns that involve mass torture, rape, genocide, and enslavement which leads to them capturing more mines which leads to more conflict minerals. It is a cycle that has ran uninterrupted for many years and will continue to run uninterrupted unless we strive to make a change.