The Bloody Origins of Conflict Diamonds

1. The Bloody Origins of Conflict Diamonds Diamonds. They symbolize things that are precious, and that have a high status. We value them for their clarity, sparkle, and radiant brilliance. They are the hardest material in the world, and possibly one of the most sought after. However, behind these crystal gemstones is a bloody origin. This is responsible for a shift towards buying manufactured diamonds over naturally sourced diamonds. Natural diamonds are mined. In earlier times, diamonds were first discovered in India, and were mined for various medicinal and aesthetic purposes. These mines were soon depleted due to the extremely high demand that the shining diamond stones garnered. Later, diamonds were discovered in the bowels of Africa. The mines were built in areas of Africa that are war and conflict prone, earning the diamonds mined from here the name of conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds, or blood diamonds as they are called, are products of exploited labour, and degraded workers. Blood diamonds are mined to fund rebel movements taking place in Africa. Diamonds fetch exorbitant prices all over the world, and when this is the case mine owners stop at nothing to get their hands on as many of these precious gems as they can muster. The rebels have been known to enslave, murder, and abuse the local populations to quench their thirst for diamonds. In many places they use child labour in the mining process as well. Those that are employed to work in the mines continue to do so as it sometimes is the only way they can eat. This conflict has prompted several debates about whether people must be encouraged to shift to using the artificial diamond, however, this leads to a loss of income for the exploited mine worker. Today, the transaction of blood diamonds has been declared as an illegal activity by the United Nations General Assembly. In 2003 the Kimberley Process was established by the diamond industry as a standard international certification system that would be able to reassure customers that the diamonds they want to buy are blood free. However, the process is riddled with loopholes, and the trade of these illicit diamonds mined in war zones still continues, especially in black markets.

2. With sustainability and social consciousness coming to the forefront, there needs to be a way in which people can buy diamonds without being saddled by the guilt of conflict. The world needs a truly fair trade system that will ban the trade of diamonds mined in conflict areas, and allow conscientious customers to buy the sparkling gems in manners which will benefit the living conditions of the artisanal and local miners. People who are looking to buy a glistening crystal and are socially conscious can keep their eyes peeled for the certification mark that guarantees the diamond is blood free. However, they still cannot truly be sure whether it is conflict free due to the loopholes in the system. In this over 80 billion dollars a year industry, lab grown diamonds growers have arrived as an alternate of reprieve. Simulated diamonds and synthetic diamonds are a great alternative to the conflict mined diamonds. Steps should however still be taken to rid this industry of the guilt of conflict diamonds.