[justify]The volatile situation in Eastern Congo caught the attention of the world in late 1996 when

a Rwanda assembled Congolese rebellion supported jointly by Rwanda and Uganda with of course Western backing. The situation took allures of a world war when 9 more African countries entered and a massive input of world powers in 1998.

Coincidentally, 1998 is the year advent of new technology was getting momentum. The Personal Computer (PC) was spreading slowly and the middle class could afford the instruments. Two years later, Portable Computers widely known as Laptops became the new profitability frontier for Manufacturers and Software makers. Unfortunately it is also the year Rwanda and Uganda fell out and fought in the Northern DR. Congo town of Kisangani occasioning the death of close to a million people.

In 2006 as Apple was secretly working on the most popular touch screen Smartphone that came to be known as Iphone another rebellion started in Eastern Congo led by Laurent Nkunda Batware a dissident of the DR. Congo National Army who collaborated with Rwanda and Uganda all through the announcement and the launch of touch screen devices by Manufacturers.

Then came the tablet, this touch screen is device and other Smartphone mostly enabled by the Android Operating System (OS) have conquered the world and changed technology forever. With over 400 million Android devices active today, Manufacturers need more and more raw material for the availability of the cherished devices. The coming into of Google owned Android OS changed the world, the whole world urban population relies on it either actively or passively. The OS is found in almost everything, Phone, Tablet, Television set etc…

All these devices are possible and available thanks to a mineral, Columbite – tantalite or Coltan. It is used to manufacture tantalum capacitors in consumer electronics devices such as cellular phones, DVD players, Television sets, video game systems and computers to name a few. Coltan is mined in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, Mozambique and of course the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Every year since 2008, 71% percent of Coltan supply to manufacturers is met by newly mined product. What better place of extracting the metallic ore than in a lawless and ungoverned territory? That justifies the volatile situation in Eastern Congo. Whenever there ground shift in the Technology industry, war has to erupt in the DR. Congo.

It has been brought to the world attention that Coltan Mining has been financing serious conflicts that have caused loss of lives in millions. While writing this article and you reading it; we have probably financed the killing or displacement of an innocent Congolese. With the announcement of more tablets and next generation Smartphone and now that telecommunication companies have acknowledge that data is the next competition frontier; do you really need to ask why is the Movement of March 23 – M23 is fighting with blessing from Rwanda and Uganda right in the middle of an Economic crisis in the West? [/justify]