Things We Gift: Part 1 - Heart of Gold

The day after Thanksgiving is termed Black Friday. The Monday following is termed Cyber Monday. Both are geared towards sales and spending during the end of the year holiday season. But whether you're purchasing for Christmas, birthdays, or anniversaries, do you really know what resources were utilized to bring a present into a store? Does it even matter? This is the first blog in a 3 part content series that will take a closer look at the things we gift each other in hopes to provide some food for thought.

Last night I was watching a 60 Minutes segment on the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congo lies in the heart of Africa and is rich in gold and other sought after minerals used in cell phones and other electronics. It has been plagued with violence, fighting, rape, war, and death. John Prendergast, co-founder of The Enough Project, explains that the violence comes in localized spikes and phases.  

"If you do a conflict analysis, you will find that when there are spikes in violence, it has something to do with contestation over the mineral resources. Gold, and the rest of 'em."

So what does a typical day of a gold miner in the Congo look like? 60 Minutes visited a mine on the side of a mountain that was dug by hand by hundreds of men, working long hours with little or no food and water. The death rate is high due to mudslides and rock falls. If they are lucky, they might make a dollar or two a day. However, for many, this is the only way for them to make money to provide for their families. In other mines in eastern Congo, children work as well because their families cannot afford to send them to school. The workers are exposed to mercury as it is used to help bind the gold together and then later burned away to leave behind the fused gold. They have no health insurance.

So what are the results of the conflicts over the minerals? Whether you are part of a rebel army or the Congolese army, corruption and greed over these minerals exist. A former rebel soldier tells how they would demand gold from miners every day, then turn around and buy supplies and ammunition from the Congolese army. The two enemies do business with each other. Conflicts have resulted in village massacres. Both sides point fingers at each other.

So what happens to the gold once it starts changing hands? It’s smuggled into other countries, such as Congo’s next door neighbor, Uganda, and enters into the “legit” gold industry. So after deplorable working conditions, violence, rape, and death, the gold is sold into the world market. Years ago, the jewelry industry banned the trafficking in so-called blood diamonds, why hasn’t the same happened for gold and other fought-after minerals?

Source of origin is not yet part of the Reponsible Jewellery Council framework, however, they say that it is developing a system for the industry that will “one day” trace gold to its source. Within the industry itself, only Tiffany & Co. can trace nearly all its gold to a mine in Utah. Walmart, the largest gold retailer in America “plans” to trace the source of 10 percent of its gold products by next year.

While the gold mined in Congo accounts for roughly just one percent of the gold within the industry, that still amounts to more than $300 million dollar a year. This is more than enough incentive for the war over gold and other minerals to continue in Congo.

So what can you do as a consumer? Here are three ways from the Take Action page from the RaiseHopeForCongo.org website.

1. Urge your Representative to support legislation for conflict-free cell phones, laptops and other electronics.
2. Commit to purchase conflict-free cell phones, laptops and other electronics.
3. Urge your school, or other institution to go conflict-free.

Please feel free to go to their site for more info. I also found the New York Times Congo page to be very informative. The 60 Minutes segment goes into much more detail and provides some very telling personal stories if you’re interested as well.

-Rae is a blogger for The Daily Vine. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.