Battling Blood Diamonds

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Imagine having to leave your home, or worse, being killed, because two people you hardly know are fighting over a gem right now. Would you like it? Events like these take place nearly every single day in countries such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone. What is the gem that they are fighting over? Diamonds. These diamonds, known to many as blood diamonds, conflict diamonds, and war diamonds are what fill the coffers of the warlords and rebel forces of the countries listed above. The money that is derived from the sale of these diamonds is linked to civil war, genocide, and terrorism. To stop the atrocious acts mentioned before, I propose that more needs to be done to stop the flow of blood diamonds in these countries, and that more of that money is put into the pockets of the citizens and the government to improve the quality of life in these third world countries.

Over the past ten years over 6.5 million people have been displaced and almost 3.7 million people have been killed in the African countries of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone due to the illegal trade of blood diamonds (“Clean Diamond Trade Act”). However, blood diamonds are not limited to just those three countries; acts of violence related to blood diamonds have also been seen in countries such as the Republic of Congo, the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire), Liberia, and Zimbabwe. Many people believe that blood diamonds are not a problem at all and that the trade is self-regulated along with the trade regulations set by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). However, as Pervenia Brown stated in her 2005 article “Blood Diamonds – Sierra Leone,” “[c]onflict diamonds are valued ‘between...

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...s' Still Sold by. U.S. Retailers." Common Dreams. Common Dreams, 1 Apr. 2004. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. .

Brown, Pervenia P. "Blood Diamonds - Sierra Leone." WorldPress. WorldPress, 13 Dec. 2005. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. .

Can Blood Diamonds Be Good? ABC World News. ABC, 29 Feb. 2008. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. .

“Clean Diamond Trade Act.” 19 USC. Sec. 3901. U.S. Department of State. U.S. State Department, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. .

"FAQs - The De Beers Group." De Beers. De Beers, 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. .

Perry, Alex, and Columbus Mavhunga. "Cursed Stones." Time 176.20 (2010): 50-54. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

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