http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/14/vice.guide.to.congo/index.html?iref=allsearch
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country of vast mineral resources, a large population, and an incredible network of rivers that could be used for transportation and power. However, the DRC is one of the poorest countries of the world. This status is a result of armed conflicts, corruption, a difficult departure from being under Belgium's rule, and also misguided intervention from the United States.
As the video states, the DRC supplies 80% of the world's coltan. Coltan is a mineral that is used in many technologies we use: cellphones, laptops, cameras, and the like. Other mineral also abound in the DRC and have become known as "conflict minerals" because the scramble for these materials has create mass havoc in the country. The living situations of most of the people are deplorable and yet their plight goes unnoticed.
In other classes and lectures I have attended, the topic of coltan in the DRC has come up. One professor went as far to say that even though what is going on in the DRC is reprehensible, the United States needs to push forward or else China will take over the exploitation of coltan and other resources from the DRC.
The DRC is an overlooked example of what happens to the people of a country when the best interest of the people is not looked out for. Even the United States ignored the needs of the Congolese and focused on the gain to be made from the resources. The video touches for a moment on how devastating all the conflict is on the health of the people of the nation.
Change must be made. The DRC needs a way to step up and take control over coltan and mineral distribution. The country has the potential to be a world power and control the markets with the supplies that can be offered. The technologies we all rely on today cannot function without what the DRC has to offer. Resources need to be allocated to the well-being of the citizens.
If DRC could somehow gain control, their lives have the potential to turn around. However, what if the congolese that do find a way to take control of the markets lead to corruption. Those people could be misusing the money and not using it for the interest of the people. On the other hand, if it all works out that means big things for the DRC
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad to see a country that can have so much power be put to so much waste. I think that the people of the country need to find ways to make their resources beneficial because in return it will help them out. People are not looking out for the citizen's best interest and in return can hurt them. As long as people stay away from corruption loss and losing more money, I think that DRC will become better and have a lot of great things to come.
ReplyDeleteIt is really sad that resources are casing so many problems in a country. Resources are supposed to help a country grown and become better rather than causing destruction. There needs to be different laws and procedures to allow civilians take advantage of the resources of DRC. If nothing is changed, there could be further problems.
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