January 29, 2002
is your "bling bling" dripping blood?a few months ago, i saw a story on primetime about "conflict diamonds," otherwise known as "blood diamonds"—i.e., diamonds coming from mines that are under the control of rebel groups in sierra leone and other parts of africa. the rebels use the profits from the mines to purchase arms...which means that the sale of these diamonds funds the ongoing wars in these countries. the rebels have raped and murdered countless people, terrorizing them into submission to maintain control of the mines. those who survive are maimed...thousands of people living in sierra leone—including women and children—have had their hands, arms, feet, legs, noses, ears, lips, or other body parts cut off by the rebels. i mean, there are literally thousands of people who have been maimed for life! and all out of a combination of greed and the desire to continue fighting. thinking about it makes my physically ill, and i'm not even a victim or a witness. i made a decision on the spot that i would never, ever purchase or accept a diamond...because, as was pointed out on primetime—even though perhaps 10-15% of the world's diamonds come from sierra leone, there is no way to determine (at least not currently) with any level of certainty whether the one you buy from your local jewelry store has come from sierra leonean mines.
sometime around x-mas, i was at home on a weekday and caught an episode of the view on which someone was flaunting a huge diamond ring and they were all talking about engagement rings, and how important it was for the diamond to be of a certain number of carats, etc. i know it was just supposed to be frivolous "girl talk" and was probably not intended to be taken seriously...but all i could think was, how can they even have this conversation with any measure of lightheartedness?? is it that people are just not aware of what's going on in africa...or that they convince themselves that the diamonds they're wearing came from someplace else...or that they just don't care?? i never took the time to write to the view and express my horror at the discussion they had that day, but i will.
then, of course, there are the countless movie stars, rappers, and other celebrities who sport diamonds in their teeth, on their wrists and fingers, around their necks, and goddess-only-knows where else. as if their shameless displays of conspicuous consumption aren't enough, do they have even the SLIGHTEST idea that all that "bling bling" may have come at the price of a parent's life, or a child's limb??
surely, there are current and potential diamond consumers out there who aren't aware of it and would be as horrified as i am to know about what's happening in sierra leone, angola, and the congo. legislation (HR 2722) has been passed that should eventually help, but people need to be made aware of what's really going on.
i urge you to check these links for more information. pass them on. tell this story.
did someone die for that diamond?
campaign to eliminate conflict diamonds
jewelers of america info.
4:25 PM
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