Do me a favor and look down. I'd bet that next to your computer is a pen, paper, and your cell phone. Now let's take a closer look at your cell phone; if it's a smart phone it's screen size is around 2.5" to 5.5" and it has the ability to contact almost any person on this planet through means of internet, text, or calling. The internal make up is fairly similar amongst all of them, there's a micro-CPU and a select amount of RAM so the phone can run it's operating system. The average Joe could find this information in about fifteen minutes on the internet. The one internal component that no one really knows about is blood, uhm, I mean conflict minerals.
  The Congo is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a place filled with war, bloodshed, and minerals. In fact the current Civil war is" the bloodiest conflict since World War II"(Gettleman) with about 5 million people dead. The Congo warlords are out to spite the civilians of Congo. They want to mercilessly kill and rape them. This sub-Saharan country has absolutely no infrastructure and is one of the most poor countries in the world. To make that last statistic even more pronounced, the Congo sits on about $24 trillion dollars worth of resources. Without infrastructure the warlords have been able to take over the mines and force children and civilians to do slave labor.
  How did these warlords take power? I'm sure you're scratching you head right now and saying well why didn't we stop them? Who allowed these evil people to have weapons? Well if you looked in the mirror you'd be standing eye to eye with the answer to your questions. Remember when I mentioned conflict metals? Well conflict metals are resources that are mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses. The conflict metals in your phone are necessary for it to function. So cell phone companies have no problem paying these warlords for their metals just so they can make a profit.
  Ok, so you're claim innocence based on the fact of your ignorance? You didn't know your cell phone company was doing this to you or you had no idea this was going on. That's fine, neither did I, actually the only people who knew were the cell phone companies. Up until 2012 it was legal for cell phone companies to not share information about the cell phone parts. Now, legally, these companies have to publicly disclose the information. Do me a favor and research this topic. Spread the word of the disgusting things happening. After all; the first step to solving a problem is realizing that there is actually a problem. Your research and knowledge of this topic could save thousands of lives. I have sewn the seeds, not it is your turn to water the plants and watch them grow.


Resources:

"Blood in the Mobile | Tcij.org." Blood in the Mobile | Tcij.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.

"SEC Adopts Rule for Disclosing Use of Conflict Minerals." SEC.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.

"Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo." Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013

Gettleman, Jeffery. "Congo's Never Ending War." NYTimes.com. N.p., n.d. Web.