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A lot of people around the world are beginning to see what's going on in Congo but do we really really know what's going on over there and those who are responsible for these inhumane practices?? A short thread... #CongoIsBleeding
First off, we must recognise how bad the govt of Congo has set the country up for exploitation mainly due to it's corrupt practices and also how this conflicts with the desire for renewable energy as our "future" without knowing where the resources come from.
Congo as at March 2019 owed China $2.56b. That's a lot of money owed to your main "business partner". Yes, that's right, China is Congo's main export partner with a whooping 53.4% of all of Congo's exports in 2019 alone in comparison to the UK 4.4% and the USA ranks lower.
What is Congo's main export? Cobalt, Coltan etc. Now it gets interesting, there has always been a long standing relationship between Chinese state owned and private mining companies (CIMCO) and the Congolese govt since the mid 90s.
China have ramped up efforts to phase out fossil fuel powered vehicles by 2030, that's pretty ambitious and also exciting considering China outsold all other countries combined in electric cars in 2018, 2019 and are on track to do so in 2020. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201806/05/WS5b15df2ca31001b82571e220.html
With several countries still reeling from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on their economies. China have resumed productions as far back as May 2020 while other countries were still imposing several kinds of lockdown to contain the virus. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/05/04/electric-cars-take-the-spotlight-in-chinas-post-coronavirus-stimulus-plans.html
China's "relationship" with the corrupt Congo govt and the mere fact that this is a Chinese state backed mining operation, means that they have continued access to resources to keep on manufacturing lithium ion batteries for the vehicles in these difficult times economically.
These Chinese state backed and private mining companies are involved in the most immoral of practices in Congo ranging from human rights abuse to outright murder which are often times swept under the carpet by the corrupt Congo govt. https://www.raid-uk.org/content/chinese-mining-companies-drc
I'll end this thread by encouraging everyone to continue to speak out against this obvious human right abuse by the Chinese govt and several tech giants (Apple, Tesla, Dell, Google, Microsoft) who are also complicit in these practices. We want a green future but at what cost?
