Cobalt Red with Siddharth Kara

Foreign Policy Association
Foreign Policy Association
9,621
0
Published 2023-04-14
Cobalt is an essential component to every lithium-ion rechargeable battery made today, the batteries that power our smartphones, tablets, laptops, and electric vehicles. Roughly 75 percent of the world’s supply of cobalt is mined in the Congo, often by peasants and children in sub-human conditions. Billions of people in the world cannot conduct their daily lives without participating in a human rights and environmental catastrophe in the Congo. In this stark and crucial book, Kara argues that we must all care about what is happening in the Congo―because we are all implicated.
All Comments (20)
  • @katysutton7992
    Thank you so much for all of your work, sir. It is much appreciated - by some people. And hearing the personal stories that you have shared, it drives those forward who will do something about this
  • @janakiramnallamothu3020
    Having read the book before watching the video, I, as a reader, felt deeply moved by the situation in the Cobalt mining provinces of DRC. It's understandable why Siddharth, who personally witnessed the ground realities in the mining provinces, became emotional while reading the last lines of the book. His question about why companies don't rely on their own personnel on the ground instead of trusting Battery Suppliers at face value highlights a crucial point about corporate sincerity. Additionally, the Congolese government needs to acknowledge the daily struggles, environmental damage, and lack of opportunities faced by its citizens and take concrete steps to provide them with free education for all the children, employment, safe working conditions, and better infrastructure.
  • @BaibaZiga
    Siddharth Kara, thank you for your relentless work in uncovering the truth and educating us on it. This has been such an insightful lecture and I am looking forward to receiving the copy of my book and going deeper on this topic. What a shame that there were not more people in the room.
  • @kathleankeesler1639
    Thank you Siddharth for your courage, endurance, tenacity, conscience, integrity, compassion and determination. Modern Slavery + Sex Trafficking two of your books I literally needed to read multiple times.
  • @LouisaLaroche
    Thank you for your life's research. The continuation of colonism is something not understood by many. Thoughts of how to best spead this information is important. Wonder if John Oliver "This Week Tonight" show comes to mind. He already has a track record of talking about tough subjects.
  • @Phryxil
    So the tech companies need to buy the depot shacks and start paying $100 per sack for "kind cobalt". Support that cost by taking that cobalt out of the chinese chain to sell at a premium to visibly ethical refiners.
  • @markmiller8903
    I read the book COBALT RED and highly recommend it. It is the most horrific thing ive seen.
  • @badazzmuffin5781
    There's got to be a way to track where this stuff goes if you were the one to drop it off...
  • @sudol56
    The fact that this only has 5k views and 25 comments is insane
  • @octavioa1978
    It's insane it has only been viewed by 51k people. While stupid cosplay girls get millions of hits.
  • @neohkl
    More likely China companies are the ones actually doing high productivity industrial mining than this low productivity "artisanal" mining
  • @charlotte1369
    Soviet Union was tons better, you silly cow, and now Wagner is doing way better job than frogs
  • @neohkl
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutanda_mine
  • @neohkl
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glencore a China company?😮