Fidel Bafilemba Interview
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VICE: Fidel, do you think America’s obsession with technology—specifically the tech boom of the last 10 to 15 years—has affected Congo?
Fidel Bafilemba: It’s sad that the USA, which is the democratic father of the world, ignores human rights while scrambling for Congolese minerals. That’s very sad. Every conflict in this country has been linked in one way or another to the mining of Congo’s minerals. There is no question about the link between conflict minerals and the conflict here—it’s crystal clear.
This was the first question that Suroosh Alvi asked Fidel Bafilemba, a field researcher in Congo for a project based in the US. Suroosh conducted an interview with Fidel at Lake Kivu on the boarder of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda on October 10, 2011. Suroosh started by asking Fidel what he thought about America’s obsession with technology, and Fidel replied how the US is causing many problems for people in Congo because of the minerals they mine there. The author is trying to teach the US citizens about the problems that the US creates for Congo, along with the fact that many minerals that were used to make our everyday appliances probably came from Congo. In addition, he tries to show ways that the US citizens can try and help make life for people in Congo better. The interview goes on to show that US businesses don’t want to be in Congo to do business due to threats from the local dangerous tribes. Fidel specifically talks about how there are safe places for them to due business, and if they were to do business in Congo it would help the communities become more wealthy and healthy. Fidel sheds more light on what the tribes in Congo are like and how there is continuous battles fought, and the tribes are very cruel and show no mercy towards one another. This is an important interview because Fidel has seen and lived through many problems in Congo, so it’s giving us an input on what someone who has been there went through. This is a very informational view for first hand experiences of the problems going on in Congo.