After watching a film that was related to the civil struggles in Sierra Leone I remembered a brilliant documentary that I watched last year. Sierra Leone has suffered 10 years of civil struggles between the government and the RUF (Revolutionary United Front).The blood or conflict diamonds are the diamonds that “are mined in a war zone and sold clandestinely, in order to finance an insurgent or invading army's war efforts.”The finance of wars through diamond mining not only occurred in Sierra Leone but in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In Sierra Leone the government started to make a huge profit out of illegal diamond mining and trading in their country. In 1991 the RUF attempted assaults on the government in order to get control of the mining business. They attacked villages were they captured people that made them work in the mines like slaves. Many children were abducted from their families and trained to be RUF soldiers. Anyone that opposed to the RUF practices was killed or amputated.
The UN in 1999 recognized that diamonds are funding the civil war. In 2003 the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created. Every government in Africa would issue a certificate that would accompany any rough diamond when they export it that certifies that the diamonds are conflict free.
The civil wars in Sierra Leone ended in 2002. More than 40,000 ex-combatants were demobilized and a war crimes court indicted a dozen of those deemed most responsible for the war and its atrocities. In Angola the war has ended and in Congo the political situation is fragile. Liberia is under a diamond embargo by the UN but it is expected to be lifted during this year. The only major source of conflict diamonds at present is in the rebel-held areas of northern Côte d’Ivoire. In a 2004 survey conducted by Amnesty international concerning diamonds they found that only 11% of retail stores in the United States had a policy regarding conflict diamonds. Therefore, conflict diamonds are still sold.
I think that what happened in Africa with the diamond trade demonstrates that in profit people, governments and organizations can look the other way and ignore the suffering as people die while diamonds are forever…
10 comments:
Diamonds live forever because diamonds are a girl's best friend...
The situation is not that simple, but the thing is that in order to trade something of great value, you just don't care about how many people are harmed in the process.
Thousands of people have been killed because of the oil business and though I do not approve that, I can understand its internal mechanisms and how oil affects our global economy.
But diamonds??? Having people killed just for our vanity? The UN should have been more serious about that, and don't just "recognize" the fact.
@stormrider
Thank you so much for your comment!
The diamond trade in South Africa is very serious and has a lot of dark edges.There are serious implications and accusations regarding the benefit of the USA from this trade.Moreover,as you mentioned the UN was really late in acknowledging the genocide.There are a lot of things that we don't know I am afraid and still conflict diamonds reach the market.
this is a very important post pixie on a very important topic: indeed africa and its people are being ravaged by such wars.. The "diamond war" is part of a bigger question relating to all sorts of puzzling issues including post-colonial legacies, development, trade and smuggling and so much more.
Along the same lines, I recall a Human Rights Watch poster on the issue of gold mines and exploitation of Congolese workers. The poster includes a photo of wokers, a main statement that reads "The curse of gold" and a quote of congolese gold miner: "We are cursed because of our gold. All we do is suffer".
Truly brings some perspective in our otherwise mundane lives.
@anastasia
and if you think that these countries could prosper with the legal export of diamonds and if you think that people from the same country are killing each other so brutally it really makes me sad.I could not understand if I liked the film because it was good or because of the topic that negotiated as this topic is so moving!
Μη μου πεις πως δεν εχεις κ εσυ διαμαντια. Το να τα βλεπεις στην οθονη του σινεμα κανοντας το Hollywood και τον καθε αμερικανο redneck πλουσιοτερο και μετα να γραφεις γι αυτο στο μπλογκ σου δεν σου δινει αφεση αμαρτιων. Ειναι απλη υποκρισια.
Ac stranger
Δεν μου αρέσουν τα διαμάντια,δεν ξέρω γιατι υποθέτεις οτι αρέσουν σε όλες τις κοπέλες.Δεν έχω κανένα διαμάντι οπότε μπορώ να γράψω και δεν καταλαβαίνω τι εννοείς με τον όρο υποκρισία.Εξάλλου δεν κατηγόρησα κανέναν που έχει διαμάντια απλά μιλησα για τα διαμάντια που δεν έχουν πιστοποιητικό και προέλευση και προέρχονται απο ζώνες που έχουν πόλεμο.Οχι βέβαια οτι δεν υπάρχει ακόμα παράνομο εμπόριο.Αν θεωρείς οτι είμαι υποκρίτρια και αν αυτο σου βγάζουν τα κείμενα μου που αμφιβάλλω αν τα διαβάζεις μην ξαναγράψεις σε αυτο το blog!
Α και παρένθεση ΑC Stranger!Eπειδή τα ξέρεις όλα την ταινια την κατέβασα απο torrent δεν την είδα στο σινεμά αν και μια ταινία που μπορει να αφυπνήσει συνειδήσεις και Αμερικανικές κάνει καλό όχι κακό.Αν είσαι βέβαια κολλημένος Ελληνας που βρίζεις την Αμερική απο το πρωί ως το βράδυ καταλαβαίνω τον πόνο σου!
Γεια σου ρανια
γραφω για να σου πω οτι ανακαλυψα το πολυ καλο μπλογκ σου.
Ειναι καλο που γραφεις στα αγγλικα για τα ελληνικα πραγματα.
Θα σε διαβαζω
συνεχισε
@anisixos
Σε ευχαριστώ.Μετα το προηγούμενο σχόλιο,το σχόλιο σου είναι μια ανάσα.
Όπου 'χρήμα', βάλε 'όπλο μαζικής καταστροφής'.Τα διαμάντια είναι μέσο συναλλαγής όπως τα χρήματα και ο χρυσός.Και μάλιστα αποτελούν πολύ 'σκληρό νόμισμα' ακριβώς γιατί είναι παντοτινά.
Καλημέρα πιξάκι!
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