Welcome back from the weekend readers, trade2save wishes you a bright and productive start of the work week!

Today (Monday, Oct 19) marks the first day of “Break the Silence in Congo” week, a week dedicated to spreading awareness about one the bloodiest conflicts our planet has ever seen. Not only has this resource war claimed more than 5 million lives but also is the cause of starvation, rape, and uprooting of millions more in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fought by  warlords, militias, and “government” forces and fueled by controversial, international demand for the DRC’s valuable resource mines, this war is potentially the most overlooked bloodbath of our era.

With many of the resources from the DRC used in consumer electronics (gold, copper, coltan, etc.) we here at trade2save think it’s all our responsibility as consumers to know more about the true costs behind our new HDTVs, iphones, PS3s, etc.  Please keep an eye open for any events going on in your area on raising awareness for the war in the Congo and show your support!

http://www.congoweek.org/english/

With that, here is an excellent video from journeyman pictures summarizing the horrible situation in the congo and the global lust for resources that fuels it.

While trade2save has strove to ensure consumer awareness on the effects of ewaste, the cycle of both environmental and humanitarian violations surrounds all aspects of consumer electronics, including electronic devices’ production.  Alongside the heinous crimes being committed by the international community in the exportation, dumping, and unsafe handling of obsolete electronics comes the intentionally overlooked, controversial process of acquiring materials needed for electronics production. This section of our blog is dedicated to articles, posts, and references regarding a war that has claimed nearly 6 million lives, the resource war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.