The legacy of colonialism, racism, unchecked consumerism, and a rapacious global economic and political system that overlooks ethical and environmental concerns are among the main reasons why mining and the extraction of natural resources is causing untold suffering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Any analysis of the impact of extractive industries in the DRC must take these into account, said Fr Dr Toussaint Kafarhire Murhula SJ, Director of the Arrupe Center for Research and Training, Lubumbashi, DRC, and Dr. Evelyn Namakula Mayanja, Assistant Professor at Carleton University, Ottawa.

Fr Murhula and Dr Mayanja spoke on this issue at “Cobalt Blues: the politics of extraction and education in the DRC, a hybrid event on March 21 co-organized by Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) and the Arthur V. Mauro Institute for Peace & Justice at St. Paul’s College, Winnipeg.

Millions of Congolese have been forced off their land, pushed deeper into poverty, made ill by mining pollution, and denied access to necessities, and education for their children, even as multinational mining companies reap billions of dollars in profits from the country’s mineral wealth, Dr. Mayanja said. The DRC is rich in gold, diamonds, and strategic minerals such as cobalt, copper and lithium, which are used in energy transition and technology.

Fr Murhula urged Canadians to dig deeper into why such blatant exploitation is happening. “Every time we face a social reality, it’s important for us to understand the history of the present, the history that’s behind that,” he said.

Read the full story:https://bit.ly/CobaltBlues