Salt For Your Cobalt

Things we've all been thinking this week in class:

"Wow, the Belgian imperialists were such assholes."  

"I can't believe they would do that to fellow human beings"

Well prepare to feel salty everyone because we did it too. Not just the "same kind of thing"-- yes we've done that too-- but actually the same thing to the same people only a couple decades after the Belgian were done with them.

In 1960 the U.S. began encouraging U.S. companies to facilitate the production of raw materials found in third-world countries. According to Project Censored, "...the U.S literally installed the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, which gave U.S. corporations access to the Congo's minerals for more than 30 years." Unlike Belgium, the U.S wasn't looking for rubber, they wanted metals. The Congo holds 80% of the world’s Coltan reserves, more than 60% of the world’s cobalt and is the world’s largest supplier of high-grade copper. Because every little boy needed a PlayStation, the Congo was of vital economic interest to the U.S. [Okay, for a couple more reasons also...] 

When the Congolese tried to take back control of their own country, the U.S, with the help of Citi Bank, helped Rwanda keep a rebel presence in the Congo. What if Citi Bank had helped the British keep a presence in the U.S? Where would we be?

Here's my haiku. 

We're America.

We want to give you freedom.

Do you have diamonds?

If you comment on my post, please comment in the form of a Haiku.