A Diamond is Forever: Conflict Diamonds and Lost History

A few years back, I heard a song by Kanye West called “Diamonds from Sierra Leone.” I thought the song was catchy and interesting, but I had no idea what Sierra Leone was. I Googled Sierra Leone shortly after and learned about conflict diamonds. Then in my International Relations class, I wrote my term paper on the situation in Sierra Leone.

A diamond is created after carbon has been under pressure for hundreds of thousands of years. Diamonds sounds as if they would not have any special value; it is just another mineral waiting to be mined. In Sierra Leone, however, they have been the cause of hundreds of bloody conflicts and thousands of deaths. Appropriately they are known as blood diamonds or conflict diamonds.

Conflict in Sierra Leone began in the 1990s when rebel groups desired to overthrow the government. At the beginning, “the [Revolutionary United Front]’s initial premise seemed sound: they demanded free and fair elections, along with social and economic justice for a country that had fallen to the bottom of the United Nations human development index,” (Smillie, p.26). They violently took over diamond mines and began selling them to fund their endeavors. Warlord and former president of Liberia Charles Taylor also help fund the RUF’s cause and a civil war ensued.
In response to the atrocities happening in Sierra Leone, many countries have created policies to ensure the legitimacy of the diamonds that they import. Eventually this grew into a group of cooperating governments and companies in the mining industry known as the Kimberely Process. These groups use the Kimberely Process Certification Scheme which “imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’. As of November 2008, the KP has 49 members, representing 75 countries, with the European Community and its Member States counting as an individual participant,” (www.kimberelyprocess.com). When purchasing loose diamonds or diamond jewelry, the consumer can request certification that the diamond is conflict free and was mined legitimately.

I chose to write this blog for one main reason, in our homework assignment this week, the question “Why do you think ancient Egyptian history so captures the public mind in the west today, but ancient sub-Saharan African history is less notable and less focused on, although both societies are African in origin?” was asked. While attempts have been made to bring justice to Sierra Leone, the damage that was done will last forever. It is important to bring awareness to conflicts like that of blood diamonds and other poor human rights conditions around the world in order to help solve the problem. We cannot turn a blind eye to conflicts in countries in “far away places” because the problems are real and they affect us all. Imagine what you would do if you could look into the diamond on your finger, in your necklace, or in your ears and see the story of that diamond. You would not knowingly purchase something that has killed someone to make it into a nice little jewelry box; you would take a stand against the unthinkable exploitations and refuse to buy it. Sub-Saharan African history has seemingly been forgotten. By bringing awareness, we remember what has happened. We can take a cue from more notable historical events and document their importance, which will help preserve all histories.

~~~

Recent news article on Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone tribunal delivers final Freetown verdict


Kanye West: "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"


~~~


Sources Consulted:
http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_SLE.html

http://www.kimberelyprocess.com

Smillie, Ian. "Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Sierra Leone, Diamonds, and Human Security." Social Justice 27.4 (2000): 24-31.

http://www.diamondfacts.org