Buy Mobile Phones Cheap


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Buy Mobile Phones Cheap

Buy Mobile Phones Cheap

The Mobile Phone is a multi-million dollar industry that provides countless hours of entertainment, distraction and connection for people all around the globe, but at what cost? Thousands upon thousands of people walk into mobile phone stores every day, searching for that rectangular-shaped device that fits perfectly into their palm. Consumers do so without even thinking or caring what it took to get that nifty piece of technology into their eager hands.

The Cost of the Mobile Phone

Ask an average consumer how much their phone cost and they might say anything from $50-$900 dollars. Ask a retailer the same question and they will give a different dollar figure amount. Ask a seven year old Congolese village boy who has never seen this generation’s favourite accessory, and he will say something like: fifteen hours a day forced labour.

Ask the nation of the Congo what it costs to get a cell phone to the world and they will say: Over 6 million lives lost in what is known as Africa's First World War. A 12 year civil war that has starving and desperate civilians fighting each other to mine coltan for Western Powers.

The Origin of the Mobile Phone

Mobile phones don’t just fall out of the sky ready made. Even though the label on the box or the bottom of the phone says ‘made in China or Sweden, that’s only half the story .The origin of many beloved mobile phones, is in the heart on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); in mines worked by thousands of people who are grossly underpaid and shamelessly exploited.

The raw material used for mobile phones is called columbite-tantalite and the DRC holds 80% of the worlds Coltan stores. Many of the miners are un-trained and some are even children. On average they work and die for less than $12.00 a week. With labour that cheap, no wonder thousands of stores worldwide are stocked daily with the latest and hottest phones.

Now of course there is a whole lot more that happens in the chain of production between the mines of Congo and the mobile retailers. Most of this in between activity is legitimate and far removed from the conflict. Nevertheless the issue is not with the making of the phones rather the inhumane conditions surrounding the cultivation of its source.

Role Reversal

If the roles were reversed and Australia held 80% of the worlds coltan stores, the Australian Government and other western governments would not allow a;

  • 12 year civil war
  • Gross exploitation and child labour
  • Over 6 million causalities

Instead they would ensure the following;

  • Miners appropriately trained and protected with safety measures
  • Wages on average of $64 000 a year
  • No child labour

There is no justifiable answer as to why this senseless war has been allowed to continue in the DRC. Shamefully this is not the first time that an African nation has been allowed to suffer for the luxuries of the western world. Just to name a few such luxuries; rubber, diamonds, oil, gold.

Correcting our Conscience

It was easier for the worlds conscious to only be a little bit convicted when the blood diamond catastrophe was revealed, because not everyone has a diamond from South Africa, perched on their finger. This time around however, our conscious might be a little more unsettled because 90% of us have either owned a mobile phone, presently own one or will own one in the near future. What now? Do we throw away our phones? No, not necessarily, the phone itself is not the issue. In keeping them are we helping to finance a senseless war in the DRC? No, not exactly because not all the regions where coltan is mined are in civil war. So what’s the point of all this terrible, shocking information?

The point of it all is to get consumers; everyone alike to stop and think. Stop and even for a moment consider that the cost of that three by four inch piece of pleasure and convenience goes far more beyond a weeks pay. The mining of the source of mobile phones is everyday costing lives, and although consumers are not directly responsible, it is imperative that we do not remain ignorant.

To help the crisis in Congo donate at Heal Africa