Say No to Blood Diamonds
Since time immemorial, people have been fascinated with the beauty of loose diamonds. Numerous folklore and myths about diamonds were created over the centuries. It was inevitable that the loose diamond found its way into being part of the highly cherished engagement ring.
As with most things with high value, the loose diamond was bound to bring out the not so nice side in people. When diamonds were discovered in Africa in 1866, the diamond market began to expand as well. With the high demand, people began to scramble for the right to mine diamonds.
Blood Diamond Origins
All might have been well if not for the warring factions in Africa. This continent is widely known for violent conflicts that rage on for many years. The sad thing is that loose diamonds are at the center of it all. Not everyone knows about it, but diamonds are being mined to fund civil wars.
In many African countries, the scenario is the same. A rebel group takes control of diamond rich areas within the country. As a result, the people living in that area are displaced. Civilians who do not want to leave their homes suffer dire consequences. Either they are physically abused, or even killed, or they are forced to work as slave laborers in the diamond mines. These rebels exploit everyone - man, woman, and child. At the slightest act they consider an offence, the person would be punished. Beating, maiming, and even rape is a common occurrence in these areas.
To what end? So that the rebels can have a huge supply of rough diamonds and then sell them to the international market at high prices. The money obtained from these sales is then used for their own purposes such as buying weapons and ammunition as well as to pay and feed their soldiers. Rough diamonds from Africa fetch such a high price that the rebel groups earn as much as a hundred million of dollars each year from their sales. Loose Diamonds obtained through such practices are called blood diamonds. Some prefer to use the term conflict diamonds but others consider this to be a watered down name for goods derived through such detestable activities. Diamonds which are mined at the expense of the common people shedding their blood - blood diamonds seem to be a more appropriate term, wouldn't you think?
To the uninitiated, these facts may seem atrocious, even unbelievable. It is true though, such atrocities happened, and are still happening today. You may ask, how long has this been happening? Take a step back and examine the history of Africa. For as long as anyone can remember, this continent has been a breeding ground for civil wars. For decades, the rebel groups in African countries have been engaging in this practice of mining and selling blood diamonds.
So why hasn't anyone done anything about it?
Well in fact, prior to the late 1990s, it seemed that the whole world didn't know or didn't want to know about how the loose diamonds were being obtained. It was just that the supply was there to meet the very high demands of the market. Ignorance is bliss, so they say. Thankfully, the UN and other NGOs finally took a stand and brought this issue to the forefront.
Stop Blood Diamond - Organizations
Realizing that indeed, blood diamonds are fuelling conflict in Africa as well as making the lives of the people there more miserable, many organizations acknowledged the existence of blood diamonds. More importantly, they took steps to try to stop the activities of the rebels. One such step was to draw up and implement the Kimberly Process. This initiative recognizes the fact that there are legal diamond mining operations being carried out in some parts of Africa and the rest of the world. As such, diamonds from these areas are considered to be "clean" as opposed to the blood diamonds. To ensure that only clean loose diamonds are to find their way into the market, all shipments of diamonds are required to have a Certificate of Origin. This piece of paper certifies that the diamonds come from a certain country and not a country known to have blood diamond operations. If a shipment cannot be certified to have come from specific countries then they are to be assumed to have come from countries such as Liberia, Angola, Sierra Leone, DR of Congo, and Ivory Coast. These countries are among the most notorious nations wherein the conflict diamond trade is perpetrated.
The UN also laid down sanctions on these countries - either government or the rebels - in an effort to limit their capabilities. While it is admirable that the international community is responding in such a large scale, there is also a responsibility on the buyers and sellers. Do your part and do not buy loose diamonds which cannot be proven to be clean. Remember, if there is no demand, the supply will have to decrease as well. It's economics.
What can you do to help stop Conflict Diamonds?
Always read the stores conflict free diamonds policy before purchasing any diamond. Furthermore, take advantage of the Internet to become more informed and spread the word. For more information on how to do your part, visit www.StopBloodDiamonds.org.
A&W Diamonds is a proud to be a member and sponsor of StopBloodDiamonds.org.
Read about our Conflict Free Loose Diamonds Policy.
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