2008 Woodie Awards
Diamonds cause death
Author traces trade of illegaly mined and sold diamonds
Samantha Sussman
Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: News
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"Diamonds are forever/ they won't leave in the night/ have no fear that they might."
This line from the 1971 song performed by Shirley Bassey and later used in Kanye West's "Diamond's from Sierra Leone," illustrates how the diamond has become an enduring symbol of romance.
But what happens when the diamond that is supposed to symbolize everlasting love is actually a diamond mined in Sierra Leone, where hundreds of thousands of people perished because of the diamond trade?
To answer this question, Amnesty International sponsored a talk given by Greg Campbell, author of the book Blood Diamonds, last Wednesday, on Valentine's Day.
The speaker discussed the diamond trade, specifically in Sierra Leone.
Bryony Heise, one of the organizers of the event, said, "We decided to host Greg Campbell because of the incredibly important work he's done regarding the mining of diamonds and its relation to fueling brutal conflicts in Africa. This is an extremely timely event, due to the coming out of the movie "Blood Diamonds," and in conjunction with our campaign for Valentine's Day: Dangers of the fresh-cut rose industry for its workers in Latin America, conflict free diamonds, and fair trade chocolate."
Campbell began his talk by explaining that his book was based on several trips made to Sierra Leone in 2001.
He said his book had no ties to the movie, which was recently released with the same name.
However, Campbell did agree with the way the movie portrayed the horrifying consequences of the diamond trade.
Campbell gave a historical overview on how the De Beers company gained control over the diamond industry beginning in 1882.
The discovery of diamond deposits brought thousands of people from Africa and Europe to the mines.
Cecil Rhodes, the founder of De Beers, saw an opportunity to make an enormous profit by stockpiling the excess diamonds and limiting their sale.
The De Beers monopoly worked to the advantage of some countries like Botswana. However, in the cases of Sierra Leone and Angola, restricted availability of diamonds and their preciousness had very damaging consequences.
This line from the 1971 song performed by Shirley Bassey and later used in Kanye West's "Diamond's from Sierra Leone," illustrates how the diamond has become an enduring symbol of romance.
But what happens when the diamond that is supposed to symbolize everlasting love is actually a diamond mined in Sierra Leone, where hundreds of thousands of people perished because of the diamond trade?
To answer this question, Amnesty International sponsored a talk given by Greg Campbell, author of the book Blood Diamonds, last Wednesday, on Valentine's Day.
The speaker discussed the diamond trade, specifically in Sierra Leone.
Bryony Heise, one of the organizers of the event, said, "We decided to host Greg Campbell because of the incredibly important work he's done regarding the mining of diamonds and its relation to fueling brutal conflicts in Africa. This is an extremely timely event, due to the coming out of the movie "Blood Diamonds," and in conjunction with our campaign for Valentine's Day: Dangers of the fresh-cut rose industry for its workers in Latin America, conflict free diamonds, and fair trade chocolate."
Campbell began his talk by explaining that his book was based on several trips made to Sierra Leone in 2001.
He said his book had no ties to the movie, which was recently released with the same name.
However, Campbell did agree with the way the movie portrayed the horrifying consequences of the diamond trade.
Campbell gave a historical overview on how the De Beers company gained control over the diamond industry beginning in 1882.
The discovery of diamond deposits brought thousands of people from Africa and Europe to the mines.
Cecil Rhodes, the founder of De Beers, saw an opportunity to make an enormous profit by stockpiling the excess diamonds and limiting their sale.
The De Beers monopoly worked to the advantage of some countries like Botswana. However, in the cases of Sierra Leone and Angola, restricted availability of diamonds and their preciousness had very damaging consequences.
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