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One Week Without Mining: The DRC and Modern Slavery

Samuel Solomon Sanders

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About the Writing

In a world heavily reliant on mining for resources, a thought-provoking scenario is presented by Samuel S. Sanders. As readers delve into the narrative, they are taken on a journey to explore the potential impact of ceasing mining activities for a week. Through vivid descriptions and engaging storytelling, Sanders piques the curiosity of readers and challenges them to envision a world without this essential industry.

The Writing

One Week Without Mining: The DRC and Modern SlaverySamuel Solomon Sanders
00:00 / 04:26

Samuel S. Sanders

Geology 9

Ms. Cohen

June 15th, 2023

One Week Without Mining

Imagine what life would be like if we stopped mining for one week, starting today. Ask yourself, what would happen? Actually, don't. I'm going to tell you.

You live in Pittsburgh, in the United States. You've just awakened in your linen sheets to the sound of… silence. Strange, you wonder. No jackhammering by the men outside. They were just working on the road last night. They've probably finished. Stumbling out of bed, you trek to the kitchen for your usual Frosted Flakes and CNN breakfast. Maybe you'll have a smoothie today. The news anchor, John Bellay, is frantically discussing a new law established by the Joseph Administration: The Quarry Act. This act, he explains, prohibits mining and the equipment used in it until the Dominican Republic of Congo is considered SFW by Human Rights Watch. Bellay frantically goes further, explaining how special powers granted to President Joseph the previous day allowed for the bipartisan bill to be passed, stunning citizens and world leaders alike.


You don't care. Washing your Frosted Flakes down with a strawberry green smoothie, you lace up your ratty sneakers and head to Rose Park Mall. Today is the day you get those bright red Nikes you've saved up for. Upon arriving at the mall, your eyes only fall heavily on the price tag. Four hundred dollars. Four hundred dollars? That can't be right. Just last Tuesday, you walked by them, ogling them as always, fifty dollars away from that one hundred and twenty dollar price tag. Maybe they messed up the tag. Maybe next week.


You wake up the next day to a similar schedule. It is summer, after all—frosted flakes, pancakes, and CNN. Today, the news anchor is doing a story on Silicon Valley. A few hours after the Quarry Act was ratified, fifteen thousand Valley startups took out money from their respective banks. Democrats and Republicans were hammering the Joseph Administration, warning of possible economic collapse. Even further, the UN…

You don't care. Ratty shoes on market day. You used up your strawberries for yesterday's smoothie. Maybe they'll have some.


Arriving at Belle's Market with a cloth bag in hand, there's some sort of commotion. A man in a yellow hat yells at a supermarket attendant, gesticulating wildly. As you get closer, you realize why. There are no plastic shopping carts in the cart cage. Instead, a new kiosk claims to rent carts for five dollars apiece. This is insane, you think. How is anyone going to be able to shop? But you move on, grab your strawberries, and head to the Apple Store.

A week prior, you had dropped your phone down the garbage disposal, which rendered it useless. You plan to get that new iPhone you've been eyeing today. Frosted Flakes, eggs, ratty sneakers. Down Main Street and back to the mall, eyes averted to those shoes and their price tag of five hundred and twelve dollars. Once you arrive, you will find an assistant at the Genius Bar to help you find your needs. Bright turquoise, you decide, will be the color of your new phone. And yet, to your surprise, as you walk through the isles of glowing screens and fancy wording, there is not a single item below eight hundred dollars. This can't be right, you think. Just last month, that was the price of the newest phone! But it's okay. You don't care. You can use your computer for a month or two until you have enough money. It's not like you needed a phone at that moment, anyway. Right?


Flakes, smoothie, CNN. Ratty sneakers. Tomorrow, maybe.


Flakes, sausage, CNN. The sneakers look rattier today. But you can't afford it.


Flakes, OJ, CNN. What is going on?


Flakes, fruit… Enough.

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