(Untitled)

[oilbird]

The only change over the decades has been the particular resource snatched for Western consumption - rubber under the Belgians, diamonds under Mobutu, coltan and cassiterite today.

There is an official story about the war in Congo, and then there is the reality, uncovered by a trilogy of bomb-blast reports from the UN Panel of Experts on the

Comments

[alate]

This is the kind of thing people should read every once in awhile. On the one hand, it's frustrating to read things like that because how much can we really change things, just ourselves? (That's debatable of course.) On the other hand, it's important to read these things to remind oneself of the last line you wrote, and of just how MUCH we have. I read about half the article and it made me want to like, jump up from my chair and go do something immediately--but what? I'll read the other half later - it's a lot to take in all at once.

[oilbird]

you can't necessarily change everyone, but you, yourself can change and not be a part of the problem (the theoretical you, not you, personally). and if it makes a few people think about their actions before buying the latest phone and sending their old one to a landfill, then that is GOOD. if change is incremental, it is still change.
Africa will probably never be the place you see in Nat'l geographic, but the real problem is that westerners DON'T EVEN KNOW, so it's worse than not caring. they don't even bother to know.

[alate]

Yeah, you're right. Especially about the incremental change. Sometimes I think, oh hell, why bother? and I even talk that way, but I really don't think that.
It's the kind of information people need to get - things people need to know - but sort of like, slow release. Getting bombarded with this information makes people not want to think about it, for many reasons. For one thing, it's depressing; for another, I think people in our society right now don't like to feel guilty. It's weird because we shouldn't feel guilty about certain things, things we really have no role in, but the same people (myself included) don't feel guilty about the things they SHOULD feel guilt about, things like having to have the latest cell phone or gadget regardless of the cost/consequences.
I feel like I'm preaching to the choir.

Where did you go?

[anonymous]

I miss Elena updates! How are you, girl?

-Jess