Modern Pirates of the African Coast

"Okay, what do you do with this money?"

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"The money? I use to buy ammunition and speed boats, and the rest to take care of our families. Because we do our jobs. That is why we are doing this dirty job."

"You come to exploit here and don't want to employ me. That is why, that is the major reason why we are doing this. You don't want to employ us and you are exploiting from us."

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I find this very sad. These people have ZERO prospects for their future from the moment they were born. Their country has been used, abused and had the wealth sucked out of it over the last 4 centuries, continues to be exploited to the extreme and they grow up in harder circumstances than Westerners could ever fathom. They take from this a lesson: their lives are meaningless to the powers-that-be and if they want any shot at wealth or security, then they must fight to the death to take it.

Is it really surprising then that some of these men with no future and no security turn to kidnapping, smuggling and extortion to give their lives some meaning?

Is all fair in love and war on climate change? A supernatural force is awakened when eccentric electric car entrepreneur Alan Murdoch & two scientists travel to Congo - where their cobalt mining operations thrive on child and slave labor - to steal the mythical cobalt magnet that will help harvest an endless supply of cobalt from the ocean.

I can't stop thinking about that video of cobalt miners in the congo with little to no protective gear struggling to pull other miners out of a collapsing mine

The fact that they're working to death LITERALLY for billion dollar corporations ran by CEOs who get to relax in mansions and on yachts makes my blood boil

This is violence of capitalism and colonialism

"More than 150 workers whose labor underpins the AI systems of Facebook, TikTok and ChatGPT gathered in Nairobi on Monday [May 1st, 2023] and pledged to establish the first African Content Moderators Union, in a move that could have significant consequences for the businesses of some of the world’s biggest tech companies.

The current and former workers, all employed by third party outsourcing companies, have provided content moderation services for AI tools used by Meta, Bytedance, and OpenAI—the respective owners of Facebook, TikTok and the breakout AI chatbot ChatGPT. Despite the mental toll of the work, which has left many content moderators suffering from PTSD, their jobs are some of the lowest-paid in the global tech industry, with some workers earning as little as $1.50 per hour.

As news of the successful vote to register the union was read out, the packed room of workers at the Mövenpick Hotel in Nairobi burst into cheers and applause, a video from the event seen by TIME shows. Confetti fell onto the stage, and jubilant music began to play as the crowd continued to cheer.

The establishment of the Content Moderators Union is the culmination of a process that began in 2019, when Daniel Motaung, a Facebook content moderator, was fired from his role at the outsourcing company Sama after he attempted to convene a workers’ union called the Alliance. Motaung, whose story was first revealed by TIME, is now suing both Facebook and Sama in a Nairobi court. Motaung traveled from his home in South Africa to attend the Labor Day meeting of more than 150 content moderators in Nairobi, and addressed the group.

“I never thought, when I started the Alliance in 2019, we would be here today—with moderators from every major social media giant forming the first African moderators union,” Motaung said in a statement. “There have never been more of us. Our cause is right, our way is just, and we shall prevail. I couldn’t be more proud of today’s decision to register the Content Moderators Union.”

TIME’s reporting on Motaung “kicked off a wave of legal action and organizing that has culminated in two judgments against Meta and planted the seeds for today’s mass worker summit,” said Foxglove, a non-profit legal NGO that is supporting the cases, in a press release.

Those two judgments against Meta include one from April in which a Kenyan judge ruled Meta could be sued in a Kenyan court—following an argument from the company that, since it did not formally trade in Kenya, it should not be subject to claims under the country’s legal system. Meta is also being sued, separately, in a $2 billion case alleging it has failed to act swiftly enough to remove posts that, the case says, incited deadly violence in Ethiopia...

Workers who helped OpenAI detoxify the breakout AI chatbot ChatGPT were present at the event in Nairobi, and said they would also join the union. TIME was the first to reveal the conditions faced by these workers, many of whom were paid less than $2 per hour to view traumatizing content including descriptions and depictions of child sexual abuse. ...Said Richard Mathenge, a former ChatGPT content moderator... “Our work is just as important and it is also dangerous. We took an historic step today. The way is long but we are determined to fight on so that people are not abused the way we were.”

-via TIME, 5/1/23

[Note: In addition to Big Tech outsourcing and exploiting workers for social media and AI moderation, many companies also exploit and vastly underpay mostly overseas workers to straight up pretend to be AI. I'm really glad issues around this are starting to get attention AND UNIONS because exploited overseas labor is so often the backbone of AI--or even the "AI" itself.]

free congo

after doing more in depth research (which was difficult, since the media decides not to cover the genocide and mistreatment people face there for whatever reason) but the people are being treated horribly in order to mine products like lithium and colbalt. the people have to withstand horrible working conditions to create electronic batteries that are can be found in phones, electric cars like tesla, and even planes. because congo has such a large supply of copper, the people are being treated less than human and killed, with an ongoing genocide there that no one seems to be talking about. please repost posts about congo to spread support and awareness about the mistreatment many have to face.

Cleo Sol

If The Hunger Games series was released today, with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes released first, you wouldn't be able to use it as a discussion of colonialism and imperialism because you'd have entire circles of the internet dedicated to proving that the author is wrong and actually Snow is the true victim and screaming "Oh my god this is so disrespectful how dare you bring real world colonialism into your fandom discourse just to justify your faves. Stop moralizing fiction! Now let me tell you about how my meow meow isn't a colonizer and also Katniss is a crazy fascist."

Sidenote: The Hunger Games universe is an amazing distillation of the core-periphery model of colonization and imperialism and I will not shut up about it they should honestly teach it alongside Decolonialism 101 in schools which is why you know they won't.

Impala Bafokeng Platinum mineworkers in Rustenburg in the North West have vowed not to return to work until all their demands are met. The workers are expected to report for duty on Sunday for their night shift when the mine reopens from the December holidays. However, they say they will never go underground until the mine management withdraws suspension notices issued to some employees for their alleged involvement in the three days sit in December. Before the mine closed for the December holidays, over 2 000 workers embarked on an underground sit-in for three days at the mine. They were protesting over issues relating to workers’ pension funds and the employee share scheme. They eventually called off the sit-in and resurfaced due to hunger. Now they say some of the workers have been dismissed, others suspended over this and yet their grievances have yet to be addressed by management.

06/01/2024

New Vocal Article. Silent Genocide in the Heart of Africa: The Congo

“As we express our solidarity with the Palestinian people, let us also lend our voices in support of the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.” - @bello___a, via authentic_african, Instagram

To find out more about the history of the Congo and its silent genocide, click here: https://rb.gy/2xq477

Images: Repost @moyoafrika, via Instagram

NONE OF US ARE FREE UNTIL THE LAST OF US IS FREE.

Kwaheri: Vanishing Africa (1964)

"Since entering the diamond trade in Congo in 1997, Israeli companies have carved out a dominant position, contributing substantially to Israel’s economy. As of 2016, cut diamonds accounted for an astounding 23.2% of Israel’s total exports, making them the country’s most significant export product and constituting 12% of the world’s diamond production. This industry is not just a business sector; it’s a powerhouse of national economic strength, bolstering Israel’s standing on the global stage."

"However, this ascent in the diamond trade coincides alarmingly with the descent of the Congo into conflict and turmoil, raising critical questions about the industry’s impact on the region’s stability."

"Amidst this economic boom, the Israeli diamond industry continues to garner prestigious accolades and recognition at home, starkly contrasting with the situation in the Congo. Industry leaders like Benny Meirov of MID House of Diamonds are celebrated with high honors like the Israel Diamond Industry Dignitary Award, underscoring their esteemed status within the national economic fabric. These awards, bestowed among government officials and industry elites, symbolize the industry’s esteemed position in Israel. However, this national pride and acclaim starkly contrast with the allegations of the industry’s role in fueling conflict and destabilization in resource-rich nations like the Congo."

"[....] The activities of Israeli businessmen in Africa, particularly in cases like Gertler and Steinmetz, prompt a critical examination of the intersection between Zionism, Israeli foreign policy and African geopolitics. These instances, occurring within a broader context of resource exploitation, reflect the complex nature of Zionism as it intersects with global economic and political agendas. Israel’s foreign policy, often seen as an extension of its national ideology, raises questions about the role and influence of Zionism in shaping these international engagements."

Read entire article here

Why are we making Mamiwata? Watch this video. Win Prizes Join the tribe Pick your side Preservation or annihilation? BECAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL!

Good

Pay more attention to Congo. Our tech is made from the exploitation of Congo and its resources. The Congolese people deserve freedom and safety, but are being displaced, abused, killed, and exploited.