We Must All Protect Against Blood Diamonds - Essay Example

We Must All Protect Against Blood Diamonds In our society, diamonds are always associated with the concepts of glamour and romance. During the Christmas season through Valentine’s Day, diamonds are marketed as being the end-all gift choice for men wanting to melt their women’s hearts. A woman judges the degree of affection a man feels for her by the size or quantity of the diamonds he buys for her during these special holidays. However, there is a much darker side of the stone that illustrates the importance of identifying the source of these diamonds. This is not to suggest that a diamond purchased from Jarrod’s is more expensive or desirable than one bought at Zales, but instead goes much deeper, to the source of the diamond mine and the labor used to obtain it. As it is depicted in the film Blood Diamonds, the expression ‘conflict’ or ‘blood diamonds’ describes renegade armed militias in certain regions of Africa who control the extraction and export of unregulated diamonds. These militia groups use the profits they make from these mines to finance armed campaigns. These ‘conflicts’ have resulted in the slaughter, torture and rape of an untold number of innocent civilians and has led to the displacement of millions. With an understanding of what is meant by blood diamonds and the detrimental effects they have on world populations, governmental attempts to control the diamonds are explored to demonstrate the importance of individual consideration and action in stopping the blood diamond trade. As it is depicted in the movie, the militia groups force many hundreds of people to work the diamond mines in three Ivory Coast towns. These towns together produce more than 300,000 carats of diamonds every year at a value of more than $28 million. While the total amount of money made through the diamond trade of Africa is unknown, the number of impoverished diamond miners has been estimated to make up nearly 10 percent of the labor force in many African nations (Kelbie, 2006). These miners are easily attracted to the mines with the dream of discovering a large stone which would help them retire and live the good life forever, but most of them do not find such a stone and have little choice but to continue mining because there are no other jobs available. The miners are easily recruited because they are already impoverished and they believe they are becoming a member of a group that will provide them with a better life while allowing them to work for the betterment of their fellow Africans. The Global Witness reports that more than just destroying their own country, the diamond mines are being taken over by worldwide terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, who use them both to raise support funds and to launder money (Kelbie, 2006). Al-Qaeda is thought to be involved, for example, in Liberia. In one year, they are reported to have staged a diamond funneling and money laundering operation for a Sierra Leone rebel group which murdered more than 50,000 and tortured, raped and abducted many thousands of others. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed in Liberia by rebel forces. Al-Qaeda is also involved in illegal diamond operations in Tanzania and Sudan. In addition to assorted rebel groups and Al-Qaeda using ‘blood diamonds’ to finance their ventures, Hezbollah is also active in this illegal pursuit (Kelbie, 2006). Rebel militias deal in the illegal diamond trade for many reasons. The most obvious is that diamond’s value-to-weight ratio is very high which allows for great amounts of capital to be easily transported. Diamonds are mined with low-profile, rudimentary tools and in various regions, many of which are remote making it all but impossible to adequately patrol. Additionally, determining the source of individual diamonds is tremendously problematical. Despite this, many governmental efforts have been made to try to stop these practices. For instance, the Angolan government has tried issuing tamper-proof ‘certificates of origin.’ In this nation, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), an anti-government group backed by the U.S. government, is heavily involved in the extraction and distribution of illegal diamonds. Despite U.S. involvement, the first year these tighter controls were enacted, UNITA profits dropped. However, the reason for this is uncertain because this was also the year (1999-2000) that this group lost a portion of its mines as a result of losing a decades-long civil war it had fought with the government. “UNITA is still trading in illicit diamonds, has access to funds abroad, and its officials are traveling freely in several countries outside Angola” (Goreux, 2001). Though the initial reports were promising, the issuance of certificates has in effect done little to stem the sale of ‘blood diamonds.’ ‘Blood diamonds’ have been an integral part of Angola’s internal strife for more than two decades. A UN imposed sanction on UNITA did not have the desired effect. These sanctions included diamonds, oil, arms and restricted travel, but none of these measures produced the impact intended. These sanctions involved deploying UN observers at a high monetary cost but these efforts failed to even curb the flow of illegal diamonds. At the time the sanctions were in full force, “it was reported that a certificate of origin could be bought for five dollars and that UNITA soldiers routinely traded stones with government soldiers. A parcel purchased from the Ministry of Mines could, therefore, be contaminated with conflict diamonds” (Goreux, 2001). Further, UNITA had a well organized network for its diamond operations which transferred the stones to currency that was held in foreign banks. In Sierra Leone, diamonds that were once an integral part of that country’s economy in the 1970’s became a perpetual treasure chest for rebel armies and corrupt government officials by the 1980’s. UN sanctions including an embargo on diamonds have had similar effects in Sierra Leone as they did in Angola. The rebellion in Sierra Leone that began in 1991 as well as the atrocities that took place before that time was funded by these ‘blood diamonds.’ “The vast sums of money and weapons exchanged in return for the gems have helped fuel some of the bloodiest civil wars in Africa” (Jones, 2003). It becomes obvious, then, that without worldwide individual efforts against the blood diamond trade, these horrific conditions will persist well into the future, destroying not only Africa, but affecting the way of life of millions of people in developed countries as well, as they are the prime targets of terrorist attacks. The Kimberley Certification Scheme has been implemented by legitimate diamond traders around the world fearing that the demand for diamonds would sharply decrease when people became aware of the human misery their sale ultimately caused (International Secretariat, 2006). Most diamond buyers fully cooperated with this scheme knowing that public awareness could greatly diminish their profits much as it did the fur industry. “The Kimberley Process lacks the ability to monitor itself. Governments are yet to swallow hard and say ‘yes, we will check up on each other” (Clive Wright, head of Britain’s diamond office cited in Jones, 2003). This certification system has, so far, somewhat positively affected the public relations aspect of the industry but in reality has done little to curb the illegal trade. ‘Blood diamonds’ account for up to 15 percent of the $12 billion per year extracted from the diamond mines of Africa (Dunn, 2000). The diamond buying public can avoid the funding of these rebel groups and terrorist organizations by asking questions of the diamond merchants prior to the purchase. “How can I be sure that none of your jewelry contains conflict diamonds, do you know where the diamonds you sell come from, can I see a copy of your company’s policy on conflict diamonds and can you show me a written guarantee from your diamond suppliers stating that your diamonds are conflict-free?” (Kelbie, 2006). While some companies are honestly attempting not to buy ‘blood diamonds,’ others are concerned only with profit and do not care where these rough diamonds emanate from. The Kimberley Certificates will be useful in stemming the tide of the illegal diamond trade only if African governments allow neighboring countries to monitor each others’ actions so as to prevent corruption. This has not as of yet occurred on a widespread basis. In addition, if governments were to improve economic conditions, this would supply increased employment opportunities and the allure of diamond mining would decrease. Another long-term solution to the problem would involve worldwide efforts designed to end the violence of rebel forces. A transparency of government, economic stability of African nations and the genuine concern of the issue by those who purchase diamonds must work in concert if ‘blood diamonds’ are to be eliminated. References Dunn, Kate. “Blood Diamonds: Tainted Gems Lose Sparkle as Prices Fall.” Relief Web. (October 27, 2000). December 4, 2007 . Goreux, Louis. “Conflict Diamonds.” The World Bank: Africa Region Working Paper Series, N. 13, (March 2001). December 4, 2007 International Secretariat. “The True Cost of Diamonds – Kimberley Process.” Amnesty International. (June 21, 2006). December 4, 2007 Jones, Lucy. “Al-Qaeda Traded Blood Diamonds.” BBC News. (February 20, 2003). December 4, 2007 Kelbie, Paul. “Rough Trade: Diamond Industry Still Funding Bloody Conflicts in Africa.” The Independent. (February 10, 2006). December 4, 2007 Zwick, Edward (Editor). Blood Diamond. [DVD]. Warner Bros. Pictures, (2006). Read More