Ashely Judd just stunned the social mediasphere for two reasons: one, she broke her leg so badly that she needed an extended hospital stay. Two, she did that in the middle of a jungle in the Congo. Ashley, what are you doing?
While other celebs have gotten hate for travelling mid-pandemic, Ashley's reasons for flying all the way from her home in the USA to the wilderness of West Africa are actually pretty noble. Here's what the former A-lister has been up to.
She's Researching a Humanitarian Crisis
Ashley's statement about tripping and nearly losing her leg mentioned that she was in the jungle as part of a UN research team. According to an IG Live interview she gave this weekend, her team was headed to visit mineral wells in the eastern Congo.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of a 'blood diamond' (thanks Kanye) but there are other precious minerals being mined in Africa that power our modern phones, laptops, and smart devices. Congalese children risk their lives to collect these minerals, and Ashley says enough is enough.
"Our consumer practices help create and sustain the complex humanitarian crisis that is in the Congo, we have to talk about what's happening," she explained to the reporter on IG Live. "The minerals that come out of the east are what is enabling us to have this live conversation."
She's Educating People About 'Conflict Minerals'
Ashley's passion for this issue was clear as she described, in detail, exactly what conflict minerals are all about.
"The coltan, and the tungsten, and the tantalum - it's what makes the screen light up, it's what makes things flicker, it's what makes things go 'ping' and 'ding' and all of those alerts," she said. "And those are called conflict minerals, and I'll tell you who's getting the minerals out of the ground. Little children."
Ashley knows what she's talking about. Recent reports have shown the direct connection between mineral mining and child exploitation. Companies like Apple now have to publicly share exactly how conflict in the Congo is part of their business model.
She Wants Fans to Be Mindful
We can't all go to the Congo right now and help children dig for tungsten. What Ashely says we CAN do is keep those working conditions in mind when we purchase our devices. Maybe think twice before upgrading that iPhone.
"Our consumer practices, as far fetched as that may sound to some people, are contributing to Faisa [a child miner] walking in the forest and his flip flop breaking," she said. "We must understand that what we do on a daily basis, in our sweet little home in America is connected to the misery and suffering of the Congo."
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