Yes, it's the Christmas season, the season to be happy, merry and spend time with family, friends and loved ones. It's that time of year we love to shop and exchange gifts, but as we celebrate this Christmas, let us remember to be smart consumers.
Let us remember the leverage we have to change the equation for Congo by taking the conflict out of our pockets and demanding conflict-free products from those we give our business to.
The direct connection between the raw materials used in the manufacture of our everyday electronics products and the human devastation in Congo is enough to suggest that we as end-consumers of these products have a role to play in helping bring an end to the ongoing conflict in Congo. Our actions are really what are going to change the lives of millions of people across the world. This Christmas, let us remember that Congo is not hopeless. There are solutions.
As concerned global citizens, let us remember to speak to our elected congressional members, lobby and pressure them to make Congo, the most deadliest conflict in the world since WWII, a priority and make the US Foreign Policy towards central Africa more compassionate in terms of justice by fully implementing sections 102 and 103 of PL 109-456.
This Christmas, let us remember the world that our dear President Clinton imagines, "A world of shared opportunities, shared prosperity and shared responsibilities. A world with a sense of community that embraces all the myriad diversities of the human species. A world that has a profound sense of obligation to the future."
As we celebrate our differences, let us remember to embrace our common humanity and that even though the world is too unequal, all human life has equal worth. It's the greatest gift we could ever give to our dear ones in Congo. This Christmas season, as we deck the halls and wait for Santa to bring us a merry Christmas, do they in Congo know it's Christmas?
