The journey of the world’s smartphones and tabletsoften begins with children digging in the deadly cobalt mines of Congo. One US-based human rights …
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The deadly cost of cobalt for smartphones | DW Stories
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Illegal mining I doubt will ever be truly stamped out in Africa. Cobalt isn’t the only resource being illegally mined.
Most people watched this video on their smartphone or PC so how are you going to begin to address the problem.
Money talks. The tech giants will buy off the politicians and smash you like a bug in court.
Republic of Congo (pluralist state) [no] or Democratic Republic of Congo (religious state) [yes]?
Same thing happens with diamonds gold any sort of mineral
My heart breaks for these poor little kids just trying to earn enough to be able to survive. It’s beyond horrific and those involved in doing this need to be shoved deep inside these mines and left to rot
Goood
Slavery still exits
People living in medieval age !!!! This world is a mess
These children are mining for a reason, I'm sure their parents would put a stop to it if they could, if they didn't rely on the cobalt for their food/water/shelter. It's a tough world out there for many, and I would gladly pay a bit more for smartphones etc if the money was to fall into their hands.
don't forget the number one user of Cobalt is gasoline refineries… it's used to remove sulfur.
I hate this! Who are the mining companies?! Their punishment should be working the mines themselves, HARD LABOR!
This is absolutely horrific, with that said.
One fact has to be acknowledged.
They were not in a forced labor camp and they did not have to take the job.
I HATE big tech, but by GOV standers, they did nothing illegal.
Sue the government , for allowing this to take place.
great news. love from Bangladesh
Of course the Congolese government has nothing to do with this just the big, bad, technology companies buying this mineral.
I never buy thr new phone model,mine last for 4 or 5 years. The old phone i used i will literally get fun off for using a old model.And the phone im using now which i bought 2 years ago is considered old from my family and friends.But i don't care why do i want a new phone if my phone works perfectly fine and that's what i dont get.And thanks for sharing this video ppl need to know the truth.
Some white people say slavery is just a history so we're now at the same level! If we live in misery it's because we're lazy!
It's more sickening that the corporations profiting from child labor are making a picture of themselves like they're saving the world particularly poor places like Africa.
Keep donating the charities, gofundme's and hashtags because you are the saints!
Sad
Where is Greta to tell us how electric cars will save the world ?
This is absolutely terrible! Those poor children! Where are the advocates for these children? Wearing a barrage of diamonds and jewelry, hair extensions and makeup mined from human slaves, sold to have food to eat, and produced using fetal tissue. Dear Father in Heaven, humanity has been corrupted with the highest level of evil! All for money!
But what if I use the phone to broadcast what an eco-friendly consumer I am? surely that counts for something..
If any government cared about human life or suffering or even just the work standards their own people must endure to compete globally, then we would institute strong labor standards in our trade deals, not financial tariffs to make a quick buck at the cost of consumers…
Alright. I'll stop buying new updates phones or cars again. One is enough.
Please stop shopping or buying things you dont need, use it untill it broke, if not, repair it, omg
Yeah, the German mining companies would love to swoop in and take control of these cobalt mines and displace the residents around them, via use of heavy equipment to render manual labors obsolete, or via pollution of drinking water, or via bribery of local government. And then they can brag about the stoppage of child labors. I think we’ve seen this kind of bs before. Oh yeah, this is the mode de operandi of most western big corporations. Actually not just big corporations, but the populations too. They keep their living environments clean and dump the trash in oceans and developing countries. Their governments and big corps talk about human rights and climate changes while selling piles of WMDs and poisonous pesticides. Double faced liars they are!
To be fair you can pretty much guarantee some form of human rights violations in any mine in an undeveloped country
Yes, Preach from the soapbox DW, nevermind the fact that EU is one of the biggest exploiters for Colbalt and also Lithium in the world.
Those companies could support the government to control and regellate mining for cobalt
Well done!
People need to stop the consumption craze and only use what they really need, preserving it as long as possible.
Ojalá tradujeron estos vídeos al español, gracias .
So just stop working at the mines
Stop Child Labor ✊✊✊✊✊✊
All will be finished one day..
We live in a world where every choice orphans a child a continent away.
Is it the consumers fault? Failure in government policy. But also poor countries have no choice but to sell their labor for cheap. So there's the choice: die working in a mine or die of starvation.
Crazy, these big companies are worse than comunism itself.
I had no idea about the material, i had no idea that children are used to mine that stuff. :O
Wow. I read a couple of comments that recognised this is a problem caused myself indulgent consumers who want the newest and best cheap no matter what, greedy corporations, and impotent governments. The rest are a mirror of how the world is as it is. DW keep the exposure of things like this coming.
I am sure billy wont lose any sleep over this
I think those companies should be sued for a few more specific reasons. GO GET THEM! Much love to those families. Good luck
Thanks for bringing this to our awareness.
It's funny, what does the IRA hope to accomplish, no matter the power of the tech giants, they can not tell a country what to do, as the doc said, the government will just look the other way when complaints are filed they are corrupt and only want money from exports.
What are these Tech giants supposed to do, stop buying any and all cobalt? Let the world fall into decay because we can't produce a single electronic device anymore?
Even then the trial is a waste of time, you can't hold the Tech companies accountable, they have set rules for their suppliers, they enforce these rules by limiting where they get goods and cutting off suppliers that break these rules, they file complaints with the government and from there it's with the country.
The local government has to enforce the safety rules and we all know that is never going to happen.
Thanks elon musk now more will work for you just for the sake of feature
As an African , I think the problems are multifactorial.
The government of Congo just like most African governments are corrupt.
There's poverty and may not be able to afford education, this is the best job so far in the area.
France has a key role, in French-speaking African countries, meaning even if the Congolese govt intervenes, they still have to speak with France.
The companies as usual are corrupt and don't care as far as they get what they want.
Menh so sad about the loss of life especially children
Thanks elon musk now more will work for you just for the sake of feature
Why… why… why…
Who owns these mines is it Tesla is it Apple I don't think they own these mines they just have a demand how would you expect these countries to develop 200 years ago our own country had children working in difficult situations. Bleeding hearts will price this country out of the market and those people end up even poorer but no way to get ahead PREVENTING their development. Instead, they will starve to death or be at war with a gun in their hand.
If you want to help, donate to free schooling in the region.
If this is true then I am somewhat responsible for this. As such one way or another I will have to pay for it in life.
DW should do some covers on the lithium ion mining in Bolivia.Those fancy and sleek looking electric cars that was made by Porsche,Jaguar,and many others all came with a huge cost. So many families are on the danger for their homes to be demolished and ruthless treatments that they are receiving from the Bolivian army
America is the new Babylon