Tin in Congo

(NY Times)

When asked to find a slideshow, I searched many a website. The New York Times ended up winning the race for a great one, an audio slideshow called The Spoils: A Scramble for Tin in Congo.

In the pictures, the lives of poor Congolese are shown, working hard to produce tin from a mine surrounded by soldiers. Conditions are horrible for living and working, and with toxic fumes and tunnels caving in, it seems hard to survive as well. Workers have to carry heavy stones and 110 pound sacks on their backs for wealthy countries to use the tin to produce things like laptops and cellphones. Seeing the pictures of the people was much more than saddening, especially when seeing pictures of children working.

"It is the saga of much of Africa's riches: unearthed by the poor, controlled by the strong and consumed by a world oblivious to its orgins."

This quote really hit me. How can the world be so oblivious to this? How come we don't know? How can we learn about these things? Is there anything we can do?