The Mobile Phone is a multi-million dollar industry that provides countless hours of entertainment, distraction and connection for people all around the globe, but at what cost? Thousands upon thousands of people walk into mobile phone stores every day, searching for that rectangular-shaped device that fits perfectly into their palm. Consumers do so without even thinking or caring what it took to get that nifty piece of technology into their eager hands.

The Cost of the Mobile Phone

Ask an average consumer how much their phone cost and they might say anything from $50-$900 dollars. Ask a retailer the same question and they will give a different dollar figure amount. Ask a seven year old Congolese village boy who has never seen this generation’s favourite accessory, and he will say something like: fifteen hours a day forced labour.

Ask the nation of the Congo what it costs to get a cell phone to the world and they will say: Over 6 million lives lost in what is known as Africa's First World War. A 12 year civil war that has starving and desperate civilians fighting each other to mine coltan for Western Powers.

The Origin of the Mobile Phone

Mobile phones don’t just fall out of the sky ready made. Even though the label on the box or the bottom of the phone says ‘made in China or Sweden, that’s only half the story .The origin of many beloved mobile phones, is in the heart on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); in mines worked by thousands of people who are grossly underpaid and shamelessly exploited.

The raw material used for mobile phones is called columbite-tantalite and the DRC holds 80% of the worlds Coltan stores. Many of the miners are un-trained and some are even children. On average they work and die for less than $12.00 a week. With labour that cheap, no wonder thousands of stores worldwide are stocked daily with the latest and hottest phones.

Now of course there is a whole lot more that happens in the chain of production between the mines of Congo and the mobile retailers. Most of this in between activity is legitimate and far removed from the conflict. Nevertheless the issue is not with the making of the phones rather the inhumane conditions surrounding the cultivation of its source.

• Tracfones Phones

  Tracfone-Flip-Phones are the Best. Get A Motorola V170 or a Motorola W370 Tracphone Flip Phone.

• Best Home Phone

  Uniden ELBT 595 5.8 GHz 1-Line Cordless Phone - User review: 5 stars. "If you want a truly portable, expandable system that uses your cell phone as ...

• Telephone Dect

• Wireless Phones Reviews

• Cell Phone Verizon Wholesale