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Reviews tagging 'Sexism'
Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara
10 reviews
katharina90's review against another edition
5.0
"Please tell the people in your country, a child in the Congo dies every day so that they can plug in their phones."
Whatever you think you know about mineral mining in the Congo, the reality is so much worse.
Siddharth Kara paints a devastating picture of the dystopian world we live in and the cruelty most of us in the Global North are complicit in every day.
"Nothing looks the same after a trip to the Congo. The world back home no longer makes sense. It is difficult to reconcile how it even inhabits the same planet. Neatly arranged mountains of vegetables at grocery stores seem vulgar. Bright lights and flushing toilets seem like sorcery. Clean air and water feel like a crime. The markers of wealth and consumption appear violent."
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Alcoholism
claraarianne's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
anjasshelf's review
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
chanatova's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
careinthelibrary's review
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
haleybird's review against another edition
4.0
Regardless of that, however, I do believe this is a book that anyone who uses rechargeable electronics or electric vehicles should read. The more people know about the atrocities that continue to be committed in the Congo for the sole purpose of exploiting their resources, the better.
I will surely be much more conscious about my consumption of products that use rechargeable batteries moving forward, as I can’t in good conscience keep blindly consuming while children, women, and men in the Congo continue to die indiscriminately. We all need to do better!
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ecn's review
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
scmiller's review
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death and Car accident
shay43geek's review
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Sexual harassment
shannon_magee's review against another edition
3.75
“How can a sustainable future be built through sacrificing the very bearers of that future, through depriving children’s well-being, and worse even, through depriving children the right to be?”
“The biggest problem faced by the Congo’s artisanal miners is that stakeholders up the chain refuse to accept responsibility for them, even though they all profit in one way or another from their work.”
“Meaningful solutions cannot be devised if they are devoid of direct input from those the solutions are meant to assist.”
There are so many things I learned from this book - about the “clean” energy production chain, about cobalt mining, and about Congolese history. The research and firsthand accounts in this book are a significant reminder that all systems and all communities across our world interact and overlap, even if we cannot see where they touch at first. As such, it’s a reminder that when we’re alerted to inequities and injustice in systems and events all over the world, it is our responsibility to educate ourselves on them, then to speak out against the injustice, and do what we can to support the communities most directly affected, according to their expressed needs.
This is a painful, but powerful read and a very necessary one. I have much respect for the author for his work in researching, interviewing, and sharing this with us, and to all those who spoke with him and worked with him in the Congo, who shared their stories to get word out to the rest of us so we can wake up and step up.
Moderate: Child death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Colonisation