Nothing to Us...Everything to Them...

For the last month, I have been going out of my mind wondering what Corporate America does with its discarded technological equipment. A few books and articles on the International Criminal Tribunals of both the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), combined with my own work place (one of the largest investment banking companies in the world) inspired me to search out the answer. Having been unsuccessful in my own search, BBC brought the answer to me.

My firm recently replaced PCs nation-wide. This means we replaced from 25 to 300 PC in each of about 20 North American Offices. We replaced machines that, though slow by current competitive standards, had Windows 2002, Pentium 4, etc etc. But where did they go? I asked my IT guy. I am told that they are shipped off to a PC recycling center in New York (our World Headquarters). So, basically, we scrap thousands of perfectly functioning computers every 3 years or so.

This is UNbelieveable! In researching International Law, the UN, genocide and Africa, I have come to understand that the criminal tribunals charge with the duty of trying and prosecuting genocidaires, lack the most basic office supplies (Administration of the International Tribunal): paper, paper clips, fax machines, printers, etc. Romeo Dallaire, Force Commander during the 1994 Rwanda genocide had ONE suitcase sized laptop and a dot matrix printer on which to write reports to fax to UN headquarters. NO WONDER NO ONE AT HEAD QUARTERS WOULD LISTEN!!! I HAVEN'T BEEN NEAR A DOT MATRIX PRINTER SINCE THE AGE OF 4!! FOUR!!!!!

So what is the answer? Why do we discard these computers local IT guy? To the IT guy's credit, he tried to get these computers donated locally, and that is when he was told "that it is do to security issues" that we cannot donate the computers....oh, I see, so lobing them into a big pile in a junk yard is a whole lot more secure than wiping the hard drive and donating them to people who will ultimately use them for word processing and internet surfing because that is the extent of their knowledge!?!?!?!?!?! I'm pissed.

And then comes BBC (my personal favorite source for world news) with an article about what we SHOULD be doing with these perfectly useful PCs. The organization is Computer Aid International. I suggest EVERYONE give this website to the head of their company. Personally -since I have been cock blocked by my local IT guy as to whom I would actually need to ask about this situation- I intend to write an email to one of the most praised CEOs in America if not Internationally...and do you know why? Because if the people with the passion will not make the people with the power listen, the world would be a useless sad place. My power is my passion....as is yours. I am not an activist (I don't even like activists because they quite frankly annoy the hell out of me) I DO, however, feel that we must never bow to money or intimidation in hoping for a world that actually does care for humans on a human level.