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"My son was a very good student." This line is from the movie titled 'blood diamond,' released at the end of 2006. The film deals with Sierra Leone civil war and the birth of the Kimberley process, an agreement made by about 40 countries in banning diamond smuggling at conflict areas. It is based on the works of American free-lance journalist Gregg Campbell who went into the Sierra Leone civil war for years and covered the scene on a book named "Blood Diamond." In the movie, the main character, an indigenous of Sierra Leone says the line above in a desperate situation - completely worn out after meeting various crises from his attempt to get back his son who was kidnapped by local rebels of RUF (Revolutionary United Front). The rebels train his teenage son as a slaughter machine that even does not recognize his own father later. What drove his son to the evil was the human greed surrounding diamonds.
The first Diamond in Sierra Leone was discovered by a British geologist in the 1930s. The world's most valuable diamonds were mined since then. As a result, the European mine operators and local aboriginal people flocked into Sierra Leone. Since its very beginning, Sierra Leone's diamonds became the target of looting; rebel forces have secured funding for arms through diamond smuggling; teenage boys either were cut off their wrists, recruited by the rebel forces, or exploited their labor for diamond mining. To sum up, a symbol for perpetual love and devotion, diamond, became symbol of blood in Sierra Leon.
"Diamond shredded Sierra Leon"
Sierra Leon's diamond hold for only four to five percent of world diamond production. However, this little amount of diamond took lives of more than three and half million people according to data released by American Senator Tony Hall in 2001. Extensive network of diamond companies, intermediary traders, smugglers, terrorists, corrupt government, and rebel forces made such horrible product possible. The film accuses the ironical present of Sierra Leon where the symbol of eternal love and commitment, diamond, is used for fund cruel wars.
For 10 years, two hundred thousand people have died, two hundred fifty thousand women were raped, seven thousand children were made slaughter machines, four thousand people were cut of their limbs, and about one-third of the whole population, which is roughly two million, degenerated into refugees. This horrendous decade of disastrous human rights abuses just passed lately in the small country of Sierra Leone.
So, what kind of people were those rebels that committed such evils -cutting legs and hands of four thousand people? Ridiculously, they were small kids about the age of 14 or 15 like the protagonist's kidnapped son. Since the formation of RUF in 1991, the rebels used those kids to traffic diamond, and with the profits, they bought arms to fight a civil war. A The rebel forces, armed with new, modern weapons, committed indiscriminate murder and rape, occupying one after another diamond mine. And, the rebels injected drugs on the kids and then gave them guns and exes, turning them into brutal murder weapon. For the decade of civil war, more than seven thousand children were kidnapped and transformed to be slaughter machines - to hack off of hands and feet of thousands of innocent people as well as their lives to prevent other people from coming close to diamonds. There was no reason for such behavior. Intoxicated with drugs, the kids had no idea what they were doing when they fired guns and wielded axes because they lost consciousness. Gradually, rebel activity became a diamond itself rather than a political revolution. The symbol of the eternal beauty, Diamond, became blood diamonds that drove one country's destiny into disaster
"Blessing and Curse"
Until 1999 when UN Peace Corps were deployed, this horrible scene of Sierra Leon was totally ignored. Although with the support of the international organizations such as UN and MSF, houses were built for refugees and victims, they will always have to live with disastrous war wounds. Those whose limbs are cut by the levels, sons and daughters are lost, and hometowns are destroyed have no hope to live tomorrow except hope to die earlier.
Diamonds sold as jewelry are mostly from Africa. The reason why diamonds of exceptionally good quality are found in Africa is due to the geographical and climatic conditions of Africa. Diamonds hiding under the tropical rainforest for thousands of years are eroding by the influence of heavy rainfall. Therefore, what Gregg Campbell, the author of 'Blood Diamond,' said carries significant meaning: "diamond has always been both a blessing and a curse for countries that are similar to Sierra Leon."
"Much of our wealth comes from a stuff that most people know little about. It should have been a blessing to us, but it actually became a curse. It triggered a disastrous civil war in Sierra Leone, and torn apart the country. It is because the person in control of the stuff controls the country. It is diamond."(Sorious Samura, chairman of Cry Freetown)
Reference
∙ Campbell, Greg (2002). Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.
∙ Conflict Diamonds United Nations Department of Public Information, December 26, 2006.
By Michael Choi,
Student Writer
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