I want to talk to you today

今天我想要談論的

about a difficult topic that is close to me,

是一個與我相關，但讓人感到為難的議題

and closer than you might realize to you.

而且也許比你所認為的更與你相關

I came to the UK 21 years ago, as an asylum-seeker.

21年前我來到英國

I was 21.

尋求政治避難

I was forced to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

我當時21歲

my home, where I was a student activist.

我被迫離開剛果民主共和國

I would love my children to be able to meet my family in the Congo.

我在家鄉時是個學生社會運動參與者

But I want to tell you what the Congo has got to do with you.

我很希望

But first of all, I want you to do me a favor.

我的孩子能夠見見我在剛果的家人

Can you all please reach into your pockets and take out your mobile phone?

但在這裡我想告訴你們：剛果究竟與你們有哪些關聯

Feel that familiar weight ...

首先，我想請你們幫我一個忙

how naturally your finger slides towards the buttons.

能不能請你們將手伸進口袋裡

(Laughter)

並拿出你們的手機呢?

Can you imagine your world without it?

感覺一下那熟悉的重量

It connects us to our loved ones,

你的手指在按鍵上的滑動時 感覺多麼自然啊

our family, friends and colleagues,

(笑聲)

at home and overseas.

你能想像沒有手機的世界嗎？

It is a symbol of an interconnected world.

手機讓我們與心愛的人

But what you hold in your hand leaves a bloody trail,

家人、朋友和同事們連結

and it all boils down to a mineral:

不分國內外

tantalum, mined in the Congo as coltan.

手機象徵著一個相互連結的世界

It is an anticorrosive heat conductor.

但是，你手上的手機其實滿是血印

It stores energy in our mobile phones, PlayStations and laptops.

這一切始於礦物「鉭」

It is used in aerospace and medical equipment as an alloy.

這種在剛果開採的礦稱為鈳鉭鐵礦

It is so powerful that we only need tiny amounts.

是一種具防腐蝕性的熱導體

It would be great if the story ended there.

用在手機、遊戲機或筆記型電腦時

Unfortunately, what you hold in your hand

可儲存電力

has not only enabled incredible technological development

它也被運用在航空與醫療儀器上

and industrial expansion,

作為合金

but it has also contributed to unimaginable human suffering.

它非常地有用

Since 1996,

我們只需要極少量就夠了

over five million people have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

如果故事能到此結束就很完美

Countless women, men and children have been raped, tortured or enslaved.

不幸的是，你們手中握著的

Rape is used as a weapon of war,

並不只是促使科技有驚人的發展

instilling fear and depopulating whole areas.

工業擴張

The quest for extracting this mineral

更導致了難以想像的

has not only aided, but it has fueled

人類的苦難

the ongoing war in the Congo.

1996年後，已有超過五百萬人

But don't throw away your phones yet.

在剛果民主共和國死去

Thirty thousand children are enlisted

數不清的女人、男人與孩子

and are made to fight in armed groups.

被強暴、折磨或奴役

The Congo consistently scores dreadfully

強暴被作為一種戰爭的武器

in global health and poverty rankings.

種下恐懼

But remarkably,

並滅絕個地區的人口

the UN Environmental Programme has estimated the wealth of the country

對於這種礦物的需求

to be over 24 trillion dollars.

不但助長、更燃起了

The state-regulated mining industry has collapsed,

在剛果境內不斷延燒的戰火

and control over mines has splintered.

不過先不要丟掉你的手機

Coltan is easily controlled by armed groups.

三萬個孩子被徵召

One well-known illicit trade route is that across the border to Rwanda,

被迫在武裝軍隊中戰鬥

where Congolese tantalum is disguised as Rwandan.

在健康與貧窮的世界排名中

But don't throw away your phones yet,

剛果一直位居末位

because the incredible irony

但引人注目的是，聯合國環境署

is that the technology that has placed such unsustainable,

估計這個國家的財富

devastating demands on the Congo

超過24兆美元

is the same technology that has brought this situation to our attention.

政府管理的採礦展業已經瓦解

We only know so much about the situation in the Congo and in the mines

而礦產的控制權

because of the kind of communication the mobile phone allows.

已經分裂

As with the Arab Spring,

鈳鉭鐵礦輕易地被武裝份子掌控

during the recent elections in the Congo,

最著名的非法交易路徑之一

voters were able to send text messages of local polling stations

便是穿越邊境到盧安達

to the headquarters in the capital, Kinshasa.

在那兒剛果的鉭被偽裝成盧安達的礦產

And in the wake of the result,

不過先不要丟掉你的電話

the diaspora has joined with the Carter Center,

因為難以想像諷刺的是

the Catholic Church and other observers,

科技對剛果提出如此難以永續

to draw attention to the undemocratic result.

極具毀滅性的需求

The mobile phone has given people around the world

同樣也是科技

an important tool towards gaining their political freedom.

引起我們對此情況的注意

It has truly revolutionized the way we communicate on the planet.

我們得以知道這麼多

It has allowed momentous political change to take place.

關於剛果和礦產的狀況

So, we are faced with a paradox.

也是透過手機之賜

The mobile phone is an instrument of freedom

而得到的訊息

and an instrument of oppression.

隨著阿拉伯之春的爆發

TED has always celebrated what technology can do for us,

在最近剛果的選舉中

technology in its finished form.

選民已經可以把地方投票所的訊息

It is time to be asking questions about technology.

傳送至位在首都金夏沙

Where does it come from?

的總部

Who makes it?

結果公佈後

And for what?

各地流散的居民聚集在卡特中心

Here, I am speaking directly to you,

羅馬教會以及其他選舉觀察員

the TED community,

吸引大家關注此次不民主的結果

and to all those who might be watching on a screen,

手機之於全世界的人來說

on your phone, across the world,

是得到政治自由的重要工具

in the Congo.

手機確實大大改變了

All the technology is in place for us to communicate,

我們與地球上的人們溝通的方式

and all the technology is in place to communicate this.

它促使重大政治改革

At the moment,

發生

there is no clear fair-trade solution.

所以

But there has been a huge amount of progress.

我們正面對一個進退兩難的問題

The US has recently passed legislation

手機是促成自由的工具

to target bribery and misconduct in the Congo.

也是造成迫害的工具

Recent UK legislation could be used in the same way.

TED總是

In February, Nokia unveiled its new policy on sourcing minerals in the Congo,

讚揚科技能為我們帶來什麼好處

and there is a petition to Apple to make a conflict-free iPhone.

科技成為了完美的存在

There are campaigns spreading across university campuses

現在正是時候

to make their colleges conflict-free.

對科技提出質疑

But we're not there yet.

科技從哪裡來？

We need to continue mounting pressure on phone companies

誰創造了它？

to change their sourcing processes.

為什麼存在？

When I first came to the UK, 21 years ago,

在這裡，我有話想直接對你們說

I was homesick.

對TED社群

I missed my family and the friends I left behind.

也對所有可能透過電腦螢幕

Communication was extremely difficult.

手機觀看

Sending and receiving letters took months --

在世界各地、以及身在剛果的人們說

if you were lucky.

所有的科技都是為了讓我們溝通

Often, they never arrived.

所有的科技也讓我們得以討論這個問題

Even if I could have afforded the phone bills home,

在這個時候

like most people in the Congo,

沒有明確促使公平交易的解決之道

my parents did not own a phone line.

但是關於此議題已經有很大的進步

Today, my two sons --

像是美國最近通過立法

David and Daniel,

來解決剛果民主共和國的賄賂與管理不善的問題

can talk to my parents and get to know them.

近來英國的立法機關也有類似的作法

Why should we allow

二月時，諾基亞針對剛果的礦產資源

such a wonderful, brilliant and necessary product

發佈新的政策

to be the cause of unnecessary suffering

還有給蘋果公司的請願書

for human beings?

訴請蘋果製造零衝突的 iPhone手機

We demand fair-trade food and fair-trade clothes.

也有遊行集會

It is time to demand fair-trade phones.

宣傳於各大學校園

This is an idea worth spreading.

訴求零衝突的校園

Thank you.

但我們還沒有成功

(Applause)

我們需要不斷地對手機廠商