BLOOD DIAMONDS
Diamonds symbolise
• wealth, love, and grace
In several African nations it simbolised
• power
They were used to
• Terrorise millions of innocent civilians
And may have even helped finance some of the world's most brutal terrorists
The History
In 1991 • a few hundred men
crossed the Liberian border •attacked towns in eastern
and southern Sierra Leone
Once the war began:
• money became scarce • people took things into their own
hands • They needed other ways to fund
the war
• The diamond in Africa is the most valued item
The War
Liberia is the main area of conflict.
It is the key meeting place for
rebels, terrorists and other
criminal groups to exchangeblood diamonds for weapons.
Criminals are rarely caught and use
the money to purchase illegalweapons
Thousands of Sierra Leoneans have been killed and mutilated mainly due to
no large scale, international intervention.
And still it continues…
The Government
The Kimberley Process (KPCS) started in 2002 and is a process started to stop criminals who profit from the illicit trade in rough diamonds
A diamond certification evaluation sheet must be completed, that displays the diamonds origin
Otherwise the shipment of that diamond must be confiscated
The major difficulty is distinguishing between a “genuine” diamond and a “conflict” diamond.
Once any diamond is sent off and polished, discovering its origin is impossible!
Blood diamonds still contribute to 30% of global trade
The Victims
Innocent children are turned into soldiers and forced to mine for small bits of carbon
• 50,000 have been killed• Half the population displaced• More than two-thirds of its already severely
limited infrastructure destroyed• 130,000 people have been killed• Tens of thousands raped, abused, and
mutilated • Children make around twenty cents a day
• Global diamond trade makes around €60 billion a year
The Soldiers
Sometimes I wonder... will God ever forgive us for what we've done to each other? Then I look around and I realize... God left this
place a long time ago.
HOTEL RWANDA
The First Genocide…:
1959–61 around 100,000 Tutsis were massacred in Rwanda in what is known as the 'Hutu revolution', (1/3 of the population)
Rwandan Genocide
The most horrible and systematic human massacre we have had occasion to witness since the extermination of the Jews by the
Nazis.
- British Philosopher, Bertrand Russell
The Second Genocide…:
In 1994 approximately 800,000 Tutsis and
Hutu moderates were hacked to death in a
carefully organised program of genocide.
If the pictures of tens of thousands of human bodies being gnawed on by dogs do not
wake us out of our apathy, I do not know what will.
- Secretary General of UN
The whole world failed Rwanda…
- UN member
The Aftermat
Blood Diamond – The true Story
Hotel Rwanda – Hope rises
An African Journey