Covid, Cobalt and China

My reflections after reading Kara's 'Cobalt Red'. The horrific human cost of the technology of 'climate change' ideology.

“It is harder for people to imagine the end of the world, than it is to imagine the end of capitalism.” said Mark Fisher apparently.

…and Siddharth Kara’s new book, Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives explains why this might be. If you use a smart phone, or own an e-vehicle, and think these items are cool, sustainable and convenient, prepare to be shocked.

First, some memories:

My early 1980’s childhood included living in a small village in a Kentish coalfield, where our horizon was dominated by the sinister-looking dark slag-heaps (dangerously-attractive to climb up) and tall winding-towers. The smells of coal-smoke in Winter and cabbage-like yellow rapeseed in Summertime, permeated the village and the surrounding farmland air. Black-faced miners’ stories were shared over a dark ale at the local Working Men’s Club. This was the context to the metal cages in the lift-shafts that took the men (always in donkey-jackets and hi-vis) down miles of unimaginable hell in underground caverns into the coal-seams. The only clue for us kids above, of those dangerous earthworks and massive underground chasms, were the glass tiles (like the ones in my brother’s microscope) over the large cracks in our hallway; local housing authorities were obliged to monitor levels of inevitable subsidence.

(Image from Google of a Kentish coalmine, before they were de-commissioned).

That was many moons ago. And I admit, I didn’t have any knowledge of any kind of modern-day mining prior to reading Kara’s book. Nor did I understand the connections between the mined minerals like cobalt and the batteries in the device upon which I’m now writing this reflection (I grew up in an era where the common typewriter was a way of life). Due mainly to the censorship and propaganda, I expect your average Joe Public would envisage any type of resource mining in the 21st Century to be technologically-advanced and industrial in scale - I visualised heavy machinery, large excavators, cranes and massive sorting and filtering containers between conveyor belts with colourful, complex, digital displays monitored by separately-located calm, professional, office-based geo-experts.

But the reality of mining cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is horrifying by comparison.

(Screenshot from a censored video clip - see below)

Kara describes thousands of Congolese, including women and children, digging and sifting with their bare hands and simple shovels. Collecting the cobalt in rafia bags, carried on their backs. Forced to work in atrocious conditions, with no protective equipment or safety guards for around US$1 a day. I couldn’t put it better than Janet Levy, who in her review of Kara’s book for American Thinker, points out that the Congolese people have suffered for generations and continue to suffer from so many types of exploitation, from poisoning, human slavery to debt bondage and other horrors. Some of the images of these Human Rights atrocities have been censored from this platform, for example this one. But here is one from six years ago I could embed here (it has got lots worse since then, according to Kara):

But the inevitable PR machines of $multi-million corporates like Tesla, Apple and Dell defend themselves with claims “the supply chain of our lithium batteries is sustainable and ethical.” And that Human Rights Laws are being upheld. Perhaps those reading this claim in the companies’ Annual Reports, might believe this is true. What Kara explains so clearly, is how and why this anomaly persists.

All around any quarry, inevitably the ground will be rich in that same valuable mineral. That’s what the historical goldrush was about, right? According to Kara, the corrupt Congolese Government, accepting payment from the CCP, allow ‘concessions’ for the cobalt-rich soil to be excavated. After all, the concessions are in high demand and highly profitable: most of the global supply of cobalt comes from the DRCs copper belt. Unfortunate residents are evicted from their homes by their Government, assisted by militia from the CCP - so families are forced from their farms and into poverty and must dig for even a basic survival. The Chinese can easily exploit this powerful situation: semi-official ‘agents’ offer to ‘negotiate’ the sacks of cobalt with the nearby large industrial concessions. A quick look at Google Earth images of the area, provides shocking examples of the devastating environmental impact of these concessions on the landscape. Forests completely cleared and deep excavations surrounded by toxic chemical processing lakes. You can see below the Komoto area that Kara investigates:

And like many resource-rich lands, including New Zealand, consider how almost all this is owned by…

During the plandemic, Kara reports there was no evidence of the typical Western Covid19 restrictions like physical distancing or face-masks being implemented - either by the Government or the mainly Chinese-owned workplaces. Odd? With understandable distrust and resentment between the Congolese people and the Chinese, the ‘Western Vaccines’ like Pfizers were favoured over the Chinese version. But even so, according to Kara’s book, Dr Ngoy at the Hospital in Lubumbashi said that only 1% of citizens were injected. Which begs the question - if mining cobalt is so essential and profitable, and miners are literally (already) slaves, why didn’t the Chinese quickly ensure all the miners were ‘protected’ from any perceived risk of infection by enforcing vaccine mandates like the Western ‘democracies’ did on us? Food for thought…

[Photo by Iván Díaz on Unsplash]

The reality is, the public health and safety risks are far more serious than any virus within and around the mines.

Long-term health problems, including birth defects from the toxic contamination of water, food and air for the Congolese people are common.

Tunnels, metres deep, hot, flooded, unsupported, airless, and dug from rock by hand-axes are at risk of collapse at any moment, burying alive anyone caught underground. That includes children. These DRC mining areas have no electricity or sanitary infrastructure, and with hospitals many miles away, anyone seriously injured in the mines has little hope of timely treatment, even if they could afford the costs. Widespread contamination with processing chemicals makes every source of water potentially toxic.

[Image from the SkyNews report above]

Throughout the book, Kara sensitively described the dangerous situations he manoeuvred through, with the help of his trusted translators and paperwork that endorsed his research. The ethical dilemma he faced, when so many people are in need of urgent help and assistance, was heartbreaking - he was not able to help them other than promise to get their story out to the outside world. Often he was not allowed to take photos or record the horrors he saw. The faces of the victims Kara illustrates with his words (there are conspicuously no images in this book), especially the helpless children, brought me to tears more than once.

[Photo by Ben Garratt on Unsplash]

Some of the context to this book, with fieldwork recorded before and after the height of the Covid19 hysteria, presents the facts behind the propaganda. The dramatic increase in sales of devices with cobalt-based batteries sealed the fate of so many. The numbers of deaths are unknown because the last official census was (deliberately) decades ago and workers are often unregistered. When Western countries’ policies imposed strict working and studying from home requirements, demand for smart phones, lap-tops and tablets went up exponentially, supply-chains struggled to keep up during lockdowns, and so profits increased for the Chinese companies, underwritten by the CCP, exploiting the trade. Human suffering for the sake of the perceived ‘clean green’ technology. Even the myth of New Zealand’s fake image pales into comparison with this reality.

[Photo by Precious Madubuike on Unsplash]

So,

• Where are Amnesty, the WHO and other supposed Human Rights NGOs during this long-running crisis?

• Where is the money donated to ‘charities’ to help educate the children, to provide food and healthcare, going?

• Why are the ‘climate change’ charities and activists seemingly unaware of this environmental and humanitarian disaster?

There have been attempts at accountability through court judgments but judicial systems - as we have seen more recently with BigPharma - are powerless to stop BigTech. It is PEOPLE POWER that will halt this corruption.

As Kara pointed out on his interview with Joe Rogan - even simple PPE supplies to these people would save hundreds of lives and cost these corporate entities a tiny fraction of their $trillions in profits. Listen to the full interview here:

[Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash]

This utter disconnect we all suffer from, between our daily lives and the lives of innocent people must end.

The Congolese people digging up the cobalt that powers the phones and other devices cannot afford these devices. That is why this is an incredibly important piece of research, that will go down in history and should be read by everyone who uses a phone. No-one is saying we need to give-up our phones to make a statement (although that would be an admirable action to take). Only we can help raise awareness and pressure BigTech to make changes. Email the relevant CEOs and MPs - Tweet about it to Elon Musk? Ask him to visit the Congo to witness this for himself. Do something - even if it is talking with your neighbour about it.

Professor Norman Fenton recently wrote about the ridiculous ‘Net Zero’ plans for 2050 carbon emissions from the WEF. This includes significantly increasing the sales of electric vehicles whilst stopping transportation with traditional fuels. But the Global Battery Alliance is actually a WEF entity, with Chinese banks within its Governance. Hence it is highly unlikely that any current claims to stop the slave labour of Cobalt has an authentic motive. No surprises there…the more you learn, the worse it gets…

Do you have friends virtue-signally about buying an electric vehicle or bike? Some people we know claim “oh, my new car is so wonderful, quiet, clean and FREE!”

Nothing in life is free.

Kara’s book outlines the true cost of any electric vehicles and devices - child labour, slavery and death. This book should certainly be mandatory reading for everyone. Please, read the book and share Professor Siddharth Kara’s crucial message.