The Conflict Of Sierra Leone

III.The organization that Colonel Coetzee operates involves the use of military force and monies through European agencies that help crate civil conflict in order to exploit the natural resources of the Sierra Leone. His goal is to provide cheap diamonds found by stakeholders, like Solomon, that wish to use the blood diamond to free his family and to stop the exploitation of his peoples. Danny Archer’s means to an end is to be able to find these diamonds to make the Colonel massive profits off of them. These “blood diamonds” are the result of creating wars that destroy African communities, so that Europeans can live in luxury. Is it Danny that must find these diamonds and find ways to smuggle them out of the region during military conflict, artificially created by men like Colonel Coetzee. Maddy is involved with the American media, as she is trying to find a

Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa, which is known for its role as a major departure point for many of West African captives during the transatlantic slave trade. The capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown, was founded as a home for former slaves who were given a new life in 1787. This country is rich in diamonds and other minerals. Their trade in illegal gems also known as "blood diamonds" aided in funding conflicts and lead to the civil war. Sierra Leone has experienced substantial economic growth in recent years, although the ruinous effects of the civil war continue to be felt (BBC News).

BLOOD DIAMONDS airs to some of the world's leading experts for the facts of the account of the diamond trade, and goes to the core of the matter, interviewing of both the victims and perpetrators of the diamond-fueled carnages in countries like the Sierra Leone. One such victim interviewed is Usman Conteh. Just before the start of the civil war Usman Conteh, a regular teenager of age about 17 was abducted during the rebel raid on his home town. Usman Conteh had projected to be executed, but as one of the group of a hundred, incidentally he was taken to the mines and enforced to work at gunpoint, all day and night. Rebels kept hovering over each captive, guarding against any escape or theft. After being captive for months, Usman finally escaped

Little things in life can impact the world in many ways whether it's good or bad. In this case right now the Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing a big conflict with these minerals. The type of minerals people are fighting for are mined from the floor tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold are the one that they're looking for. This is a big deal because the mineral trade has been linked to other crimes that rebel groups who commit mass atrocities, including rape and murder. It may not seem like a big deal but numbers don't lie , but you'll be surprised what they use these minerals for. They use these minerals to make phones,laptops(which I'm using right now so ironic right), light bulbs , a pair of earrings you name it. We are preventing

The Sierra Leone Civil War began in 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) began an uprising against the Sierra Leone government, citing long-term corruption and crimes as their major reason for overthrowing the government. There was also conflicting in neighboring Liberia that started in 1989 and is thought to have triggering turmoil in Sierra Leone as it stretched over its borders. Much of the fighting caused by the RUF was funded and perpetuated by the prosperous diamond mines, later to be called Blood Diamonds because of the destruction they caused, located in the southeastern part of the country. By 1999, the United Nations sent a mission to Sierra Leone to end the “Blood Diamonds” conflict by disarming soldiers and building

In 1991, a struggle for political control of Sierra Leone broke out that would change the face of the country in ways that could never be anticipated. Due to several factors, including colonialism, inequities and greed caused by the presence of diamonds, and structural inadequacies there was a sense of discontent among many people (“War-Related Sexual Violence” 15-9). As a result, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) invaded after training in Liberia, in an attempt to overthrow the incumbent government (Park 317). Because of their extensive combatant training and determination, the RUF took Sierra Leone by force and was very successful in the initial stages of the war. This was especially in their dislocation of people (“War-Related

The Sierra Leones Civil War, started in 1991 and ended in 2002.In more than a decade cities were destroyed and occupied, people displaced, women raped and children forced to become soldiers. Man were mostly used in the diamond’s mines or deployed in illegal armed forces. At the very beginning, in 1991 the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) from Liberia moved to Sierra Leone to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. In the meanwhile, the Sierra Leone Army tried its best to protect the huge amount of diamonds’ mines. Those mines, through the illicit commerce all over the world, fuelled the RUF and the NPFL (National Patriotic Front of Liberia) or later in the years the AFRC (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council), to support theirs military expenses with the revenues.

First the workers in the diamond trade have horrible working conditions like little pay and no protection from weak or unstable mines. Rebellious military groups have forced people to work and have also murdered, tortured, and done various other crimes to the workers (pg 6-8 Forman). They also have to live with little pay, leaving them with little

A. Conflict minerals is an on-going war involving four main minerals: tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold (sourceintelligence.com). However, in this war, the use of these four minerals and human laborers are being devastatingly abused and it is causing an astronomical amount of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo area. These conflict minerals are used to make our everyday needs and wants such as, “automobiles, sports equipment, consumer electronics, and jewelry” (sourceintelligence.com). Since these minerals are so popular, they are a major source of revenue for the Democratic Republic of Congo (enoughproject.org). Because of the mass chaos going on in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it has caused a huge strain on trading and marketing

The name "diamond" comes from the Greek word, "adamas" meaning unconquerable. Fittingly diamonds are made of pure carbon, and diamonds are the hardest natural substance known to man.[1] Diamonds have long been a sign of wealth and fortune. Kings and queens have worn these forms of concentrated carbon and even more countless millions people over time have lusted after them. These gems can be transparent, truculent white, yellow, green, blue, or brown. To understand the value of these stones, and ultimately their role in war, it helps to first understand their origins and where they come form.

Through the movie Blood Diamond you can see many tragic events happening. There is loss for some people and gain for others. The movie takes place during the time of the civil war in Sierra Leone in 1999 (Synopsis for Blood Diamond). The movie portrays the events that transpired between the government soldiers and rebel forces. (Synopsis for Blood Diamond). As the Movie opens Solomon Vandy is taken away from his family by RUF (the Revolutionary United Front). Among other Solomon is set to work to find diamonds that will later be sold for a profit that Solomon does not get to keep. Solomon hides the diamond inside the ground where Captain Poison sees him and demands that Solomon hand it over. While this is transpiring, the group gets attacked and Captain Poison gets sent to prison with Solomon before he can get his hands on the Diamond (Synopsis of Blood Diamond). The next main character to be introduced is Danny Archer who is imprisoned for smuggling diamonds into Liberia. Danny gets Solomon released from prison and the two make a deal that Solomon will help Danny find the diamond on the condition that Solomon gets his family back. The two set out on their journey and come across a journalist, Maddy Bowen who agrees to help Solomon on his journey to find his family. During this time it becomes clear to Maddy that Danny is only using Solomon to find the diamond and is planning to steal it and she decides to not help Danny anymore (Synopsis of Blood Diamond). As the two

“Blood diamond” reflects a dark and ferocious side of this gorgeous world that is full of vanity, cruelness and ambition. In Africa, Sierra Leone, there exist a lot of child soldiers that serve the RUF (Revolutionary United Front), and those people mine diamond from the warzone, and sell them into the official market. Therefore, the RUF gets the profits and uses it for illegal plans or terror attacks to threaten the country and the people. These behaviors and activities have increased the morality rate in Africa, and the desire of getting “blood diamond” is the crucial factor that drives these conflicts and causes that devastating disaster.

Blood Diamonds, also referred to as conflict diamonds, are diamonds that derive from areas controlled by forces or sections opposed to lawful and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in resistance to those governments, or in breach of the decisions of the Security Council. These radicals sell these diamonds, and the money is used to acquire weapons or to fund their military actions, and used to bribe foreign officials. Blood Diamonds are often created through the involuntary strained labor of men, women and children. They are also stolen during delivery or stolen by attacking the mining operations of lawful manufacturers. These assaults can be on the extent of a large military

| During the late 1990s South African diamond product De Beers and other companies on the diamond industry discovered that some of the diamonds they were buying or selling came from groups who used the proceeds to finance brutal civil wars. In Sierra Leone, rebels took control of diamond mines by systematically chopping off the arms and hands of as many as 20,000 children, women and men until the diamond operations were turned over to them. Similarly events took place at diamond mines in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. About 4 million civilians have died in the civil wars financed by the diamonds. Anxious to avoid a

There is a certain issue which needs to be looked at in West and Southern Africa today. This issue deals with conflict diamond trade, which is the trade of diamonds in which the conditions for the miners had been extremely poor, and as well, the profit gathered is usually taken into the funding of illegal activities in the area, such as funding rebel movements. Being in the 21st century, this should not be allowed by the general public, and there were actions taken by different organisations to attempt to stop the conflict diamond trade. However, up until today, they have only had limited success. For example, The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, although having many advantages, also has some disadvantages to it, which will be touched upon. Furthermore, there are some additional measures which could help in preventing the trade of conflict diamonds in the future, which will also be discussed. This will give potential chances to help end the conflict diamond trade in which many parts of Africa are suffering from.