A new groundbreaking video and investigative report about slavery in the mining industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are now online.
The video is called “Slavery in Your Pocket: Breaking the Congo Connection.” In the film, three child slaves—Busho, Anyesi and Moise—courageously step forward to describe the brutality they’ve endured in Congo’s mines.
The companion in-depth study “The Congo Report: Slavery in Conflict Minerals” unveils results of a Free the Slaves investigation about the extent of slavery in key mining regions. At the Bisie mining site, for example, 40 percent of the people interviewed by FTS were in confirmed conditions of slavery, with another 10 percent showing strong indications that they, too, were enslaved.
Children and adults are forced to work in the most dangerous conditions imaginable in eastern Congo mines. If they don’t work, they’ll starve. Millions have already died because of the conflict between warring rebel militias and the national army. The struggle to control the country’s vast mineral wealth— and the slaves who extract those minerals—fuels the fighting and suffering.
We are all linked to this slavery. The region’s minerals are key components in computers, cell phones and many other everyday items. But we can all be part of the solution.
Visit our Congo webpage to watch the new video or read the report. Use our Slavery Impact Calculator to see which items in your home, office or school may be tainted by slavery. Then donate to FTS. Your contributions support community-driven solutions to slavery in Congo and around the world.
