In a segment that was aired by local news stations across the country, Enough’s Sadia Hameed and Sasha Lezhnev explained how electronics consumption in the U.S. is linked to pervasive conflict in the Congo.
The lucrative trade in conflict minerals from eastern Congo—tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold—has enabled armed groups to wage violence in the region. Many of these minerals end up in cellphones, laptops, and other electronics sold on the U.S market.
"In order to control the mineral resources, they [armed actors] have been waging campaigns of violence against the surrounding communities, committing atrocities that most of us cannot even imagine," said Hameed.
Here’s the segment, from the local ABC station in Los Angeles: