BELLWORK 3/13

1. BELLWORK 3/13 • Describe WWI after the U.S. gets involved leading up to Germany’s surrender. • What is a convoy? Was this effective? • Which four countries attended the Treaty of Versailles? Which main ones were left out? Why? • What did Germany have to do under the Treaty of Versailles? (List 5 things!) • How did the geography of Europe change post-WWI? • THINKER: In your opinion, do you think Germany should have been involved in the Treaty of Versailles? Why or why not?

2. Discussion • How does Imperialism negatively effect countries?

3. War diamonds, conflict diamonds, hot diamonds Diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance civil wars, terrorism, genocide, or a dictator’s activities Takes place in Africa, where 2/3 of the world’s diamonds are mined Blood Diamonds

6. The Case of Sierra Leone • Sierra Leone gained independence from Great Britain in April 1961. • The major currency in Sierra Leone remains connected to diamond mining • Between 1991 and 2000, Sierra Leone engaged in a brutal civil war. • The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in Sierra Leone attempted to overthrow the government, and an illicit diamond trade was used to fund the war effort. • The Civil War in Sierra Leone claimed over 75,000 lives and caused 500,000 to become refugees, and caused half of the population of Sierra Leone (4.5 million people) to become displaced. • From 1989 to 2003 Liberia, an adjoining country of Sierra Leone, was also engaged in a civil war and became the main route for exporting conflict or blood diamonds from Sierra Leone.

7. The RUF controlled the diamond mines in Sierra Leone during the Civil War. Used profits of diamonds to fund weapons and war The RUF in Sierra Leone used 10,000 child soldiers in the conflict The RUF would abduct boys (soldiers) and girls (prostitutes) from their villages; ages 7-12 For initiation, they often times would make child soldiers murder their parents They would force children to use cocaine. If they refused, they would cut open a wound, and rub cocaine in the wound. For entertainment, some soldiers would bet on the sex of an unborn baby and then slice open a woman's womb to determine the winner Known for amputations: they would amputate people’s hands to prevent them from voting Estimated to kill 200,000 people The Revolutionary United Front

10. Angola gained independence from Portugal in November 1975. Although independent, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) fought in a civil war from 1974 to 2001 UNITA sold diamonds, valued at over $3.7 billion to finance a war with the government Remains the 2nd largest political party in Angola The Case of Angola

14. DeBeer’s Diamond Company • De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. • De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea • Was originally founded by Cecil Rhodes • Monopolizes the industry, so they’re able to fix prices to manipulate the diamond market • De Beers openly acknowledges spending $500 million on legal and illegal Angolan diamonds in 1992 alone • They also purchased diamonds solely from the RUF in the late 1990’s

17. UN Involvement • The United Nations identified the issue of African Blood Diamonds being used as a source of funding for the civil wars in Africa in 1998. • United Nations Security Council Resolution 1176: 1998; banned purchase of conflict diamonds in Angola • In May 2000, UN held a meeting of diamond producing countries in Kimberley, South Africa • Established the Kimberley process • July 29, 2003: Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) implemented which states "As the consumer of a majority of the world’s supply of diamonds, the United States has an obligation to help sever the link between diamonds and conflict and press for implementation of an effective solution."

18. Kimberley Process • Process designed to certify the origin of diamonds so they are free from conflict • Introduced by the UN in 2003 to prevent diamond sales that funded rebel movements • Purpose is to assure customers that they are not purchasing diamonds that funded war or civil rights abuses • Every diamond exported has to be accompanied with a certificate that states its origin and is conflict-free • Many organizations dispute the process’ effectiveness

19. Members of the Kimberley Process

20. Video: Blood Diamonds • This 50 minute documentary will take you around the world to shed light on this tragic reality of blood diamonds • Personal stories of those who have fallen victim to the industry • Meet the participants who keep the industry running. • You will need to take notes on this video and be ready to discuss!

21. BELLWORK 3/14 & 3/15 • Describe the Latin American social hierarchy. • What Latin American colony was the first to get their independence? How? • What Latin American colony was the only one to implement a constitutional monarchy? • Describe Austria-Hungary PRE and POST WWI. (government, geography, people) • What is Risorgimento? • THINKER: Why was the RUF able to take control of the diamond mines in Sierra Leone? Is there anything people can do to stop them?