Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives
Ratings15
Average rating4.5
This is the saddest book I've ever read.
Just as it happens in some industries where the poor are exploited to no end, in the Congo, men, women and children pay the highest of prices in order to gather Cobalt out of the ground.
That Cobalt then goes up a long chain of corruption, neglect and especially greed until it ends up in some of the batteries that power the electrical devices and cars we use in richer areas of the world.
Siddharth does a great job of presenting the history of region, what bought it to this horrible state, the local factions involved in the Cobalt mining industry and what could be done to improve the lives of poorest people on the planet today.
The investigation into the long chain of lack of accountability is often interrupted by heartbreaking stories and interviews.
Somehow, we know that there are monsters in the world who profit off the backs of children yet we are rarely confrunted with such a level of greed and suffering.
Unfortunately, given the current state of the world, the lack of political power in the area and the greed of the economic system, nothing will change for the people of the Congo anytime soon.
Hell is an imaginary place, and given what I've read, the mining regions in the Congo are the closest real thing to it. That I know of thus far.
The book reminded me of a short story written by Ursula K. LeGuin - The ones who walk away from Omelas. I highly recommend you to read it.
This is the saddest book I've ever read.
Just as it happens in some industries where the poor are exploited to no end, in the Congo, men, women and children pay the highest of prices in order to gather Cobalt out of the ground.
That Cobalt then goes up a long chain of corruption, neglect and especially greed until it ends up in some of the batteries that power the electrical devices and cars we use in richer areas of the world.
Siddharth does a great job of presenting the history of region, what bought it to this horrible state, the local factions involved in the Cobalt mining industry and what could be done to improve the lives of poorest people on the planet today.
The investigation into the long chain of lack of accountability is often interrupted by heartbreaking stories and interviews.
Somehow, we know that there are monsters in the world who profit off the backs of children yet we are rarely confrunted with such a level of greed and suffering.
Unfortunately, given the current state of the world, the lack of political power in the area and the greed of the economic system, nothing will change for the people of the Congo anytime soon.
Hell is an imaginary place, and given what I've read, the mining regions in the Congo are the closest real thing to it. That I know of thus far.
The book reminded me of a short story written by Ursula K. LeGuin - The ones who walk away from Omelas. I highly recommend you to read it.
