According to an investigative report at towardsfreedom, a decade-long war has been fought in the Congo over a metallic ore called coltan. Coltan can be refined to a powder called tantalum, which is then used in the manufacturing of several electronic products, including the PlayStation. The Congo is not the only place the coltan can be found, but it has become a major player in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s economy. So much so, that the country, its neighbors, and rebel factions have been killing for it.
Over the years, the need for coltan has increased, thus fueling a human rights problem. The U.N. has discovered that rebels have been using their youngest prisoners-of-war to mine the ore. After the mining, this child product is then sold at a discount to Western companies. Ooona King, a former Parliament member said this about the children’s situation and the reason why they have been sent into the mines:
Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms.
The war has receded from its initially large levels in 1999 because of a peace treaty signed in 2003, although fighting is still going on inside the DRC’s eastern border. According to researcher David Barouski, the “PlayStation 2 launch (spring of 2000) was a big part of the huge increase in demand for coltan that began in early 1999.”
Sony has repeatedly stated that its coltan has been purchased both legally and ethically. I, personally, find it hard to believe that this could even be tracked. Obviously, there is a ton of history to this story and I have only pointed out a small section. Excluding the war’s dumb nickname, I wonder why Sony is bearing the burden for all of this? Coltan is used in practically every electronic item. Is this another case of videogame whipping disease, or do you think the PlayStation has this much of an impact on the region?
[via gamepolitics]
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Contest:
9:48 AM on 07.12.2008
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!@#$ that. You would think that the nation(Africa) with the oldest heritage of humanity would be the most civilized.
However it is safe to say it is a dire situation.
Also, Demios is correct, what about the sheer number of T.V's, DVD players, etc. from a multitude of different
manufacturers that have used colbalt as a material? Surely they outnumber the total amount of Playstations, (1,2 and 3) sold, blaming it on sony or the videogame consoles is quite frankly ridiculous.
But honestly, it's really sad that mankind strives for galaxy domination when our very own planet is totally messed up. There is a POOR CONTINENT. We're not talking about a poor city or anything like that. It's actuallt a gynormous land that's connected to poverty, hunger, AIDS and death in the average person's mind. And man, it doesn't get much more sad than that.
'Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms'
Is pure and utter BS, what about the genocide that is taking place on that continent year after year, and the mass-murders that are taking place in the Congo itself. Fucking crooked politican, go save your own messed-up country THAT THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT YOU WORKED FOR PISSED ALL OVER IT'S OWN POPULATION, before even daring to comment on Europe and America.
Shit like that makes me sick, and and at the state of humanity.
/end rant
*sigh*
ZOMG! GAMING IS KILLING AFRICANS! GET AL SHARPTON ASAP!
By the way, "mabman, if you like me call civilisation an excuse for the mutilation of nature, then yea, they are the most civilised but not." Now that, my friend, is worth a "wut?" What mabman was saying(I think and hope so) was that being the birthplace of our species, Africa and the african people should at least be treated more kindly. Some may think they are tecnologically insipient, but it proves nothing but ignorance and an inherent lack of compassion. And they are not the ones mutilating nature. They are the vehicle of big corporations(hate the expression, makes you sound like a hippie, but that's how it works) that offer them money to NOT DIE, ran over by a way of life that was shoved up their asses without their consent.
And about galaxy domination, go play Mass Effect. That game is a realistic documentary of humanity's future. For cereal.
Specially because the game's plot beats the shit out of its underachieved combat system.
What have we done?
Its not entirely the same or fair just purely blaming Sony though...its a world-wide technology matter.
Thank you very much...
Dephect.
a) Africa is totally biased against Sony
b) Fanboys in Africa probably use "$ony" on their tantalum message boards
Oh, and I'm not defending Sony, either. In fact, I despise a number of their branches/departments and decision-makers with a passion.
Honestly, fuck the author of this shitty, poorly referenced article. He can whine about Coltan all he wants, but let me make a suggestion. How about we stop selling them weapons?
A giant Hexfix post. That would bring epic lulz
So many companies do so many unethical things you could point a finger at each and everyone of them. The bottom line with them is profitabilty and they will stop at nothing to gain it.
*insert clapping hands here*
Those pics are amazing.
Just kidding. But this is sort of bullshit; electronics are the death of man for what reason? Because corrupt politicians who want to exterminate a certain ethnic group mine coltan for the use in electronics?
Resource wars have been waging for... ever. That's practically the number one reason why wars are waged.
Yes, you're right. We are all retarded...
Well, of course he isn't targeting video games specifically, and I think most of the commenters noticed, too. We don't call him a fuckstick for "insulting video games" but for being an attention whore. His sin is to disguise correlation as causation, and to try to garner attention by blaming it all on Western consumer fetishism.
We get it; we're fucking responsible for all the bad in the world. What I find much more sickening is that he is actually using this war as a vessel for his pointless little guilt tripping and attention whoring. I bet the Congolese are real proud that some freelance "journalist" dipshit called their 5.5 million dead the "Playstation War"...way to fucking go.
/rant
Exactly, I give a shit about the people,they suufer, bleed and die for cunts in the government, yet still starve and live in shit. But it's the politicans that can waggle their fat greedy fingers at us westerners and piss and moan about not having enough aid money when it all eventually goes thier own personal bank accounts, evil cunts, hope they go die in a fire.