Pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside of the Apple store in Cabot Circus on Friday 20th September in an effort to boycott the latest iPhone 16.
By Agnes Sales, 2nd year Philosophy and Theology, and Thea Pilch, 2nd year History
(surnames of interviewees in this article have been removed for anonymity)
The protesters were responding to a call to action from a previous Apple employee who was fired for espousing pro-Palestinian rhetoric, hoping to draw attention to Apple's ‘complicity’ in the Israel/Palestine and Democratic Republic of Congo conflicts.
They campaigned against Apple for purchasing coltan, a material used in Apple products from Rwanda and Uganda, which they extracted from the DRC. The protesters explained how these mining companies are ‘enslaving men, women and children’ to mine coltan in the East of Congo. They also expressed how the militia in Congo is carrying out mass humanitarian atrocities, including the rape of women and kidnap of children.
The protesters also expressed anger at Apple’s continuing operation in Israel, which is home to the company’s Research and Development facility, in Herzliya Pituach.
The protesters, including University of Bristol alumni, Soraya, called for Apple to cut all ties with Israeli technology companies involved in Weapons tech.
When asking the protesters about why they attended the protest, Lucy, a young protester, spoke of the lack of media attention given to the ‘genocide’ in Congo, and outlined that she wanted ‘to make people more aware’.
Lucy also spoke of the interconnected nature of mass atrocities around the world, and that she hopes to make those from both Palestinian and Congolese backgrounds in Bristol feel ‘heard and supported.’
Soraya, another protester, also spoke of her hopes for this demonstration to ‘spark protests with an explicit focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo in and around Bristol.’
In conversation with Epigram, Suzie, another protester who has helped organise 40 recent rallies in Bristol as a part of the Bristol Palestine Alliance, declared ‘I am an Apple user; I have got an iPhone’, but since becoming aware of Apple’s purchasing of coltan from DR Congo, she has ‘completely changed her views’.
She also spoke of the direct link between ‘consumerism’, and the ‘suffering of others around the world', and spoke of the war-torn states such as Myanmar and Sudan which ‘aren’t being talked about.’
Suzie pleaded that the people of Gaza and Congo are ‘people, not numbers’, and the news surrounding their realities is being ‘suppressed.’
She stated that she wants to be able to explain to her Grandchildren that she tried to stop and raise awareness of what she calls an ‘atrocity.’
The Red line march is returning to Bristol in October. It will see pro-Palestinian activists holding a symbolic long red piece of fabric.
On October 7th, it will be a year since Hamas launched a terror attack on southern Israel which sparked continung attacks by the IDF onto Gaza as a part of the conflict of over 70 years.
