Congo cobalt: TikTok users stop vaping due to mining worries
Numerous young individuals on TikTok are promising to discard their e-cigarettes and cease vaping – although not for health-related issues.
Micah Ndango, a five-year vape user, announced in a video that he's giving up vaping to aid the Democratic Republic of Congo. The video has been watched over 15,000 times.
"My sibling just claimed my final vape, so I'll be recording my journey to quit vaping on this platform," promises the 21-year-old.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, situated in the heart of Africa, serves as the primary provider of cobalt globally. This element is crucial for the production of lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly found in cell phones, electric cars, and various types of e-cigarettes.
This place also serves as a residence for over 100 million individuals and is presently grappling with what the UN declares as one of the "biggest humanitarian emergencies globally".
Numerous militant factions have persistently troubled the mineral-abundant eastern region of DR Congo. This year, an escalation in conflict has resulted in a record displacement of approximately 6.9 million individuals, as indicated by UN statistics.
Ordinary people are also under attack – just the previous week, presumed Islamist extremists reportedly murdered 14 villagers.
News about the recent turmoil is spreading, and social media users are scrutinizing the involvement of global corporations and customers in the problems of DR Congo.
Ms Ndango, a resident of the United States, shared with the BBC that her initial exposure to the repercussions of cobalt mining in Congo came through a TikTok video.
"Following viewing that TikTok, I conducted my own study on the topic."
In September, Amnesty International released a report revealing that global corporations extracting copper and cobalt in DR Congo had aggressively displaced entire populations.
Amnesty also discovered violations of human rights – for example, many villagers who declined to vacate their residences reported being assaulted by Congolese troops.
In the previous year, the U.S. Labor Department included lithium-ion batteries in its roster of items made through child or coerced labour. This decision was influenced by proof of child labor being used in the extraction of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The department indicated that thousands of kids skip school and labour under horrific conditions to manufacture cobalt for lithium-ion batteries.
The message highlighted that complete family units could be laboring in cobalt mines in Congo. It further stated that when adults lose their lives due to mine shaft collapses or landslides, their children are left without any alternatives other than to keep working.
Considering the extent of the issue, Ms Ndango acknowledges that it might be challenging for digital advocacy to instigate enduring alterations in reality. Yet, she firmly believes that her videos will, at the very least, increase public consciousness.
You can't predict who might be at the other end of the line and the potential impact they could have.
"I'm convinced that I possess the capability to raise consciousness, and social media is an incredibly potent means of communication, so why not leverage it?"
Footage of TikTok users such as Ms Ndango vowing to stop vaping has indeed drawn significant public interest. The most popular one, made by @itskristinamf, has been watched over 1.7 million times.
Numerous TikTok viewers have reacted to Ms Ndango's personal videos with remarks such as, "You're not by yourself. I've just embarked on the same journey" and "I ALSO RESIGNED TODAY, WE'RE IN THIS COLLECTIVELY".
Nonetheless, Christoph Vogel, the writer of Conflict Minerals, Inc.: War, Profit and White Saviourism in Eastern Congo, views this type of online activism as a "two-sided coin."
He informs the BBC that it has the ability to garner widespread attention to significant matters, though it usually achieves this by greatly simplifying them.
Mr Vogel, a specialist on DR Congo for the UN Security Council who has spent numerous years working in the country, asserts that human rights abuses are prevalent, including the use of child labor, in cobalt mining operations, which also pose a considerable health risk.
"This is a characteristic typical to mining overall and it wouldn't be accurate to attribute it solely to cobalt."
Online activism may inadvertently take away the power and control from the communities it seeks to aid, particularly when Western supporters and the collective wisdom of internet users take over the story.
Ms. Ndango recognizes this aspect.
The problems in DR Congo are complex and multifaceted. However, when promoting awareness digitally, individuals tend to simplify these issues to conform to their brief one-minute timeframe.
She expresses her sadness that those most affected by cobalt mining in DR Congo may not possess the resources to widely share their own narratives. However, she encourages others to "utilize your influence positively".
"A single message has the potential to touch the whole country," she further states.
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