Dark side of the mine: journalist unearths human cost of smartphones in DRC

Name: Dark side of the mine: journalist unearths human cost of smartphones in DRC
Uploaded: 2021-10-22T13:08:55+00:00

Issued on: 22/10/2021 - 15:10

Miners carrying bags of minerals at mines in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2015. Photo from the exhibition SevenGrams shown at Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Awards for War Correspondents, 5-31 October 2021. © Karim Ben Khelifa

Why are people in the Democratic Republic of Congo so desperately poor given their country has such a wealth of natural resources? Journalist Karim Ben Khelifa’s augmented reality app Seven Grams investigates the human cost of making electronics such as smartphones. Taking us behind the scenes of where these precious minerals come, he tells the touching story of a boy who escaped after being recruited by rebels to work in the mines. The exhibition Seven Grams is part of the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy War Correspondents Awards, on display in Bayeux until 31 October 2021. Co-developed by Lucid Realities, France Télévisions, POV Spark, and Think-Film, Seven Grams is available from app stores.