Gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten are essential materials that allow our cell phones to vibrate, make calls, and send text messages. With electronic products constantly updated for changing market trends, the need for these minerals is at an all time high. The epicenter of these resources is war-torn Congo; unfortunately, the process to meet the Western world’s demand is far from legal.
Blood In The Mobile, directed by Danish filmmaker Frank Piasecki Poulsen, covers an ongoing atrocity of warlords abusing lives of men, women, and children to work in mines under horrendous conditions to scrape these precious materials. After they’re collected, these resources are sold for millions of dollars, and then shipped to manufacturing nations like India and China, where the pieces are assembled into our beloved iPhones and Macbooks. The money generated from these sales isn’t used for reconstruction of Congo, of course, but they’re utilized to add guns, grenades, and bombs to arsenals of warring factions.
Aside from Blood In The Mobile's fact-revealing side, it’s crucial to note that the director essentially risked his life on a journalistic crusade to unveil an ugly truth, which electronic companies have basically shoved under the rug. It’s a fascinating story that needs to be recognized, and ultimately, it requires a call for change in our demands when it comes to new gadgetries.
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