The Green Revolution Is Fueled by 40k Trafficked Congo Child Slaves
atlantablackstar.com
atlantablackstar.com
Realistically the advanced world has been running on outsourced atrocity for decades, and we're all a bit complicit.
All that said, I would welcome additional supply chain scrutiny. I don't see a point in a consumer saving not very much money to enable child labor.
Noone here or in the article are saying those things aren't a problem, just this is as well.
Everytime a business (like Hyundai) or industry gets caught using child labor in their supply chain it's an issue and news worthy.
EDIT: now my comment is downvoted, and the article is flagged, ask yourself why can't this site's community accept news for certain topics?
EDIT2: loved this satire posted by another user here that covers this well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBGinowoYu4 (use auto-translate captions)
X = textile industry issues
Y = environmental issues
Z = industrial farms issues
How is that not whataboutism? Noone is saying those aren't problems, but that's not what the article is about.
But generally whataboutism refers to comments that try to deter from the original issue by saying "X does it too so it's alright until they stop too". I didn't read the initial comment that way.
They essentially said "what about... the textile industry, the shipping industry, the farming industry"
Okay? Those are issues, we'll discuss those when an article is posted about them. But currently the battery supply chain child slave labor issue is TFA.
If you drummed up a big movement to deal with the problem of child slave labor in lithium or cobalt mines, what good have you done for the world or the kids? The same kids are still at the same risk tomorrow as they were yesterday, they just wind up in some other kind of operation, or in the extreme case maybe their only value (to those people) becomes as organ cattle. Great job!
It's a distraction to pick a specific example like that and present it as some kind of unique problem. What specific work they are put to is not the problem, it's the fact that they are enslaved at all.
It's also to say that "the green revolution is fueld by trafficked child labor" is a mischaracterization, because it is not fuelled by child labor, it merely includes child labor.
The cotton industry in the US was fuelled by slaves, because the labor was 99% done by slaves, not merely that there were some slaves.
The green revolution is such a large thing that 40k children are hardly a drop in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBGinowoYu4 (use auto-translated subtitles if you don't speak german)
The Transatlantic Slave Trade involved more than the slaves in Western colonies harvesting raw materials, generally slavery was not used in the rest of the manufacturing process in Europe.
Just because you outsource slavery of a specific process of production doesn't mean you aren't involved in slave trade.
The solutions are to sanction the country doing it as to not reward their behavior and find another means of production, or label those companies involved as terrorists and rescue those children, or pressure the government to shut it down. Or a combination of those.
If your industry cannot adapt or live without slavery then good riddance.
So far your defenses have been:
> Might as well exploit these children, they'd be tortured anyway so there's no point in discussing this!
> Only one part of the supply chain is fueled by child labor, so it's not that bad
Which is really sad.
They didn't expand on anything about the article or topic or use it to compare the issues or find contradictions in logic, they just laundry listed other topics that are known and non-disputed.
This article is about exposing a lesser known but large issue of mass child slave labor (40k+) in the battery supply chain.
Most of the things they listed aren't even in the same industry supply chain (textiles, farms, shipping), how are they relevant?
In that context your comment alone is whataboutism and distracts from discussion of the topic of the battery chain child slavery issue.
Do you stand behind your comment alone? If not would you like to edit it to discuss the topic and remove the deflections?
And the most suave punters are very keen to embrace energy technology that promise no downsides today as they can be kicked onto future generations beyond their own lifespan. Make sure not to look behind these nuclear curtains.
Unrelated nitpick: We've been running on outsourced atrocity since all of human history.
Or US, which, differently from China, has, in 2022, an entire official slave business, reportedly being an important part of some states' economy. But it's always China that gets mentioned; isn't that strange?
But the very fact that it’s not common knowledge is very telling.
The underlying problem is an excess of manual labor in Africa, caused by excessive birth rates. Take fertility rates down to sub-replacement like they are in the rest of the world, and mining will just be automated.
In what fucking world holy shit. Good lord, seriously. Labor IS PEOPLE. There is no such thing as an excess person.
The underlying problem is an economic system that allows/depends on the exploitation of vulnerable and precarious labor. If you're going to justify this then grow a spine and do it, don't deflect it back on the people being hurt the most saying they should cull themselves for our moral convenience.
Just that there might not be enough resources to meet the needs of population. Such as food and water. Thus purchasers of labour will get away by providing minimum. If there weren't such big excess supply they would need to provide more or provide better conditions.
Never mind the perpetual political destabilization of that region because our oligarch owned nations want the natural treasures buried beneath that African soil for cheap. It's their own fault for having babies. Djeez.
As long as the poor guy can choose to work something better wages and working conditions will reflect this (or the mine will shut down). See Europe after the black death.
I do hope you get the help you clearly need.
There's plenty of battery material mined in other countries like Australia, Bolivia, the US, and Canada. Nothing intrinsic to anything "green" about it. This headline is good click bait though.
Actual title says "Chinese Companies Allegedly Trafficking 40,000 Children In Congo, Forcing Them to Work In Hazardous Mines"
Here’s a 2006 movie about diamonds in Africa.
See, if they weren't sold into slavery for mining, they would be like farmers or something. Gross! And that's really tiring, too. And that sucks.
So...if they're gonna be miserable anyway, we might as well have them hep make iPhones and junk. :^)
The most egregious example was during the Iraq War, politicians suddenly started caring about the Anfal genocide, even though that occurred while America was friendly with Saddam Hussein because they shared the common enemy of Iran.
Totally inappropriate, IMO.
I also believe that corporation will do literally anything to make a profit - including slavery - and the only thing that stops them from doing so is because they stop being profitable. Knowing this allows the consumer to pressure the company to align with their values or loss their business.
Close. I do care but I think that the Congo's government should care. It just seems like a difficult ask for each consumer to worry about every supply chain they touch. Seems maddening to try.
Perhaps I should care because these governments are corrupt and cannot, or don't want to, protect their people from exploitation? I suppose it doesn't need to be perfect to be worth doing.
This is an intentional component of this system that enables this sort of exploitation. Each individual feels (to some extent justifiably) that it is someone else's duty. Each is just doing what is best or necessary for them, not necessarily happy about it, but the mine foreman has a family to feed, you think congo's government should deal with it, the petty bureaucrat knows if they change it they'll lose their job or worse. Everyone acts as they believe they should or must and now here we are.