Protesters stood outside over a dozen Apple Stores around the world on Friday, calling for Apple to break its silence on the ongoing war in Gaza and to rid so-called blood minerals from its supply chain.
The protesters, who were primarily organized by Apples Against Apartheid, a group of current and former Apple employees, demanded that Apple stop sourcing its cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where mines are notorious for dangerous conditions, low wages, frequent use of child labor, and human rights violations.
The protesters have made the following demands:
The protests took place in 10 countries, including the United States, Japan, Belgium, South Africa, and Mexico. The largest turnout was in Berlin, where more than three dozen people participated in the protest.
Many of the protests had just a few participants, often waving big banners and large flags of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Palestine. Most of the in-person protesters were not themselves Apple workers.
Tariq Ra’Ouf, a leading Apples Against Apartheid organizer, said that the goal of the protest was to disrupt Apple’s biggest day of the year and show the company that there is a lot of support for the communities that they are ignoring.