Vice Guide to Congo

Description

The Democratic Republic of Congo has a huge supply of Coltan, a vital ingredient in the production of cellphones, laptops, and other electronics. But though the price of Coltan has remained high since the tech boom of the mid '90s, Congo is still one of the poorest countries in the world.
Armed groups and militias have used the profits from mining to fund a series of complicated and violent wars, to the toll of around 5 million casualties, and yet it'd be too simple to say that the mines are always controlled by militias, and these so-called conflict minerals are also an invaluable source of income to many workers.

In this documentary, VICE travels to Congo to investigate Coltan mining. We meet members of the FRDC, the Mai Mai, and many others on the ground. And as we search for answers about mining, we come to realize that this is but one of the countries many problems.

An investigative travelogue through one of the worlds most dangerous and underreported countries, this is the VICE Guide to Congo.

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