Photojournalist Helps to Make Impact on the War in Africa

Photographer Marcus Bleasdale spent a great deal of time from 2003-2004 covering the exploitation of natural resources in Eastern Congo. Children were either used to mine gold for the rebels that was sold to finance the war or to pick up a weapon and fight as soldiers. Human Rights Watch, with these pictures, pressured the company buying all of this gold ($150 million dollars worth) to stop.

There is no denying the power of these images, and National Geographic is still engaging in the story. Children are no longer only mining gold. They are now mining other resources such as tin, tantalum and tungsten - resources that our electronic devices rely on. It is the hope of Bleasdale, with the power of National Geographic, that one day, we will be able to buy electronic devices that are stamped "conflict free."

Chris Knight's picture

Residing in New York City, Chris is an internationally published photographer whose work has appeared in Vogue, People, MSNBC, ABC, Ocean Drive, GQ and others. He is an instructor of Photography and Imaging at Pratt Institute and the New York Film Academy.

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3 Comments

Very insightful. Thanks for the information. But i also wonder how NatGeo has accessed to this place?

I have had the benefit of having Marcus as a mentor at several times, and he is absolutely one of the most dedicated photographers out there. His work from Congo is amazing. NatGeo is lucky to have him :)

The world needs more people like this guy - a 'do-er' for someone other than themselves.