“Blood in the Mobile” is a documentary that reveals how smartphone production impacted the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Filmed in 2010 by the Danish director Frank Poulsen, it studied and discussed the illegal mining of minerals involved in the mobile phone productions of companies like Nokia. Congo is rich in natural resources such as cassiterite, the mineral which participates in building details for the devices, and the film crew investigated the fact that children are forced to work at the mines under terrible conditions (Poulsen). The mines of Congo’s region Bisie are illegal, and their owners give financial support to the country’s civil war to lobby their interests and get a free workforce.
The film includes frames made by the teenage boy working at Bisie. The horrible conditions of people’s lives there, the constant and violent surveillance of militaries sponsored by foreign companies, leave everyone under the impression. Millions of Congo’s inhabitants died during the Civil war, and foreign intervention only worsened the consequences (Poulsen). Poulsen could not succeed in reaching Nokia’s executives able to clarify if the minerals were mined illegally. The companies have to be transparent about their manufacturers’ locations and avoid establishing minings in conflicting areas because people’s lives are more important than the production cost of a device.
Congo in Harlem: The Impacts of Belgian Colonisation on Congo
“Congo in Harlem” is the annual festival that shows films about the society, traditions, issues, and development in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The latest event’s main topics were the modern life of Congolese, the impact of colonialism on culture, society, economy, and the debate about its future (Congo in Harlem 3). One of the discussion panels was related to King Leopold the Second’s Belgian Colonisation’s devastating consequences and the approaches of rebuilding the Congolese society. Historian Adam Hochschild participated in the deliberation and described how the movements like Black Lives Matter confront the colonization legacy worldwide (Congo in Harlem 4). The discussion revealed that political decisions prioritizing economic growth instead of social institutional improvement severely affect life quality. The Democratic Republic of Congo went through civil wars and lost millions of citizens. Now it can protect and promote liberal human rights, which will help Congolese society develop.
The Freedom Side: The Peoples Tribunal and Congress
The “Freedom Side” is the event hosted by the Rising Majority, movement which provides the space for people to share their ideas and approaches towards building thriving societies worldwide. In 2020, the tribunal and Congress discussed how dominant institutions’ policies perpetrate terror, racial capitalism, hetero-patriarchy, and other practices preventing humanity from life improvement (The Rising Majority 5). The Rising Majority’s Congress raised the urgency to eliminate such phenomena as colonisation in third-world countries like Congo. The white supremacy established in the Middle Ages is not a way to rule in the modern world, and the affected countries’ citizens suffer from the dominance of foreign intervenors.
Moreover, imperialistic attitudes towards communities like the citizens of African counties established by the companies who provide them with jobs severely impact the continent’s political environment. Social and environmental activists, such as Arundhati Roy, Angela Davis, and Albert Woodfox, performed at the “Freedom Side,” shared personal stories, and highlighted that individuals could unite to change the damaging policies (The Rising Majority 11). Many life-threatening conflicts can be resolved if strict regulations are applied worldwide, and the event’s Congress attempted to discover ways of building sustainable practices to promote liberation and justice.
Works Cited
“12th Annual Congo in Harlem.” Congo in Harlem. 2020, Web.
Blood in The Mobile. Directed by Frank P. Poulsen, Koncern Filmproduktion, 2010.
“The Freedom Side: The Peoples Tribunal and Congress.” The Rising Majority. 2020, Web.