Status Updates From Blutrotes Kobalt. Der Kongo...

Ouch.

The Belgians sold a 75,000 square-kilometer concession of rainforest filled with palm oil trees to the Lever brothers [on April 14, 1911], whose new soap recipe required palm oil. Following Leopold’s model, the Lever brothers used forced labor in the extraction of palm oil under a quota system. The riches they generated helped build the multinational powerhouse Unilever.

Imagine that on a remote hill deep in the Congo’s mining provinces, a child can be found digging for cobalt, wearing a muddy shirt with the logo of the behemoth American financial services company that had to be bailed out for $180 billion during the 2008 financial crisis. Imagine what even 1% of that money could do if it were spent on the people who needed it, not stolen by those who exploited them.