By Neenah Payne

King Leopold II's Genocide Of The Belgian Congo explains that King Leopold II of Belgium's policies from 1897 – 1908 killed 10-15 million people in the Congo. Leopold had vast amounts of rubber  extracted for bicycle and car tires  and electric wires.

Human, Environmental and Wildlife Costs of Cell Phones, PCs, Laptops, DVD Players shows that The Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) is rich in rubber, ivory, cobalt, copper, niobium, coltan, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, and timber.  The Congo is the richest country on Earth in terms of natural resources. If Eisenhower, the UN, and Belgium had not killed Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, the Congo might now be one of the richest world's countries! Malcolm X called Lumumba "the greatest man to ever walk the African continent".

Now, the Congo is being exploited for coltan which is refined into tantalum powder to make heat-resistant capacitors for cell phones, laptops, PCs, DVD players, and other high-end electronics. With global technological innovation on the rise, the demand for coltan continues to surge, creating the incentive for miners and traders to step up their efforts to extract it under very arduous conditions. The people of the Congo have benefited very little from these extraordinary resources which are enriching and empowering the world.