The Pros And Curses Of Diamonds In Africa

     In Southern Africa, there were mineral discoveries in the 1860, 70, and 80’s. These discoveries had an enormous impact on Southern Africa. These discoveries lead to a “rush” of many fortune hunters and the establishment of the town of Kimberly, which grew quickly and soon became the largest urban society in the interior of Southern Africa. Soon the diamond industry was controlled by one monopolistic company. This was one negative effect of imperialism in Africa.

When one is on the other side of the earth, there is only so much information that a person could obtain. This was a great enough reason for the author, Greg Campbell, of "Blood Diamonds" to expose what all eyes are not seeing and what many are blind to in this world. Campbell went out to research the tracks and origins of a very valuable stone known as the diamond. In doing so, he urges to research the origins and life of this precious rock. He goes about researching just exactly how the life of the diamond begins in the jungles of Sierra Leone and ends up in the London on its market. This is what could be said to be the ultimate reason for this book "Blood Diamond”. Evidently, Campbell wanted to expose or let it be known how African

The controversial artist Kanye West has always attempted to make known what he thinks, no matter if he has to be disrespectful or graphic in his illustrations of said topic. So it wasn't a real surprise when he chose to focus his energy into reveling to the American public horrors happening that had a direct connection with the beloved diamond stone. West's 2005 music video “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” shows the corrupted underground diamond trade in the African country, Sierra Leone. From this groundbreaking video, West showed the devastated lives those who worked on the mining rivers live. However upon further investigation into the issue of diamond workers in Sierra Leone there emerged the true source of the situation, a violent

Recently, rapper Kanye West raised the issue of conflict “blood” diamonds in his song “Diamonds” (featuring Jay-Z). Conflict diamonds — diamonds mined and traded by rebel groups — have been the source of murder and mutilation in the small, west-African country of Sierra Leone. In the song, West voices his own inner conflict with diamonds:

By definition, strife precious stones are jewels that begin from mines that are under the control of revolutionary gatherings that are battling against their nation's legislature. Sierra Leone, a little nation on the west bank of Africa, (in this paragraph you need to elaborate a little bit more) has throughout the previous ten years been under the fear of an ever display common war. This war is being battled between a radical gathering known as the Revolutionary United Front and Sierra Leone's available government. The RUF took control of some of Sierra Leones wealthiest diamond mines in the mid-nineties centuries. They now utilize the benefits they make from these precious stones to purchase weapons for their armed force, made up for the

Have they ever posed the question; where is all of this coming from? It begins in the Republic of Congo, where the mineral coltan is quarried. Coltan, used commonly in smart phones and computers, is in high demand, demand so high, it can lead to the death of hundreds of citizens that are being forced to mine it. As the CBC news article “Coltan; A New Blood Mineral” apprises its reader, numerous more community’s lives will be permanently altered by the mining of coltan. “Potential mines are also being explored in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greenland, Mozambique, the United States, Finland, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Colombia.” (CBC) it is claimed. This can only mean countless more residents may be forced out of their homes, or to work in atrocious, inhumane conditions mining for the North American obsession. Though Sylvie, from Blue Gold, is a fictional character, the conflicts that she faces on an unvarying basis are a reality for innumerable African people at any given moment. However, with the nickname ‘blood mineral’, it is insinuated that coltan is the culprit, though this is not the case. As Sylvie bluntly puts it, “‘Coltan is just a rock. [...] It’s the fighters who hurt people” (Stewart 163), something the people in the Congo may forget. It is the simple truth that coltan mining is inevitable. The

This essay will have info based off the story the article Blood Diamonds written by Greg Campbell. I will be giving a brief summary of

Human blood is shed on almost every diamond mined in Africa, bought from Africa, or traded out of Africa. In the beginning of Aryn Baker’s article “Dirty Diamonds” in TIME magazine, Baker presents a man conflicted with his decision to buy an engagement ring, because he does not want “. . . a symbol of our union to also be associated with chaos and controversy and pain.” (Baker 64). This man in the example, Max Rodriguez, undoubtedly knew of the backbreaking work that children are subjected to, to provide for their families or to raise money to receive an education. Baker argues that the diamond industry in Africa hinders the development of children, nations, and that this problem may be too large to control as she appeals to logic, evoking

This essay supports the statement “The price of diamonds is too high”. Diamonds have always been presumed to be rare. They have been present in history as a symbol of wealth and luxury as they were so difficult to find. Nowadays diamonds are mined and are found all over the world but they are sold through a cartel. (Epstein 1982) A cartel limits the supply of a product in order to keep prices high and to limit competition. (South African Pocket Oxford Dictionary: 2002) This raises the question of whether diamonds are actually worth their price. This essay focuses on the origins and the basic theory behind the diamond cartel; the early operation of the cartel; De Beers’ strong market campaign; determining De Beers’ current

Slavery was abolished in the year of 1865; however, the maltreatment of African-Americans has not. Similarly, the triangular slave trade mentioned in Hartman’s book is no longer existent, but inhumane conditions still exist amongst the African community. These conditions are recurring motifs that hip-hop artist try to bring to mainstream audiences. The blood diamond industry began in the 1990s with the rebel group, Revolutionary United Front (RUF), led by Foday Sankoh, who had claimed they would improve the destitute conditions of the Africans and take better care of them than the African government. However, they later went against these promises and “seized control of diamond-producing regions in the east and south of Sierra Leone” (Fofana,

This diamond formation and subsequent mining result from one facet of nature-culture, possibilism. The diamonds were placed there by nature and it was the actions of humans that industrialized them. Comparatively, another effect of nature on the culture is the frequent rains due to the summer monsoon season. These rains wreaked havoc on the geography of Sierra Leone and put a damper on outdoor activities. In the novel, a guard said, “‘Freetown’s hills be steep...sometimes they get all the way to the sea’”

Heart of Darkness: How European imperialism relates to blood diamonds Josh Ferguson Imperialism is defined as a policy of expanding a country's power and impact through diplomacy or military force. Between the 1850’s and 1900’s the prodigious European powers were raiding Africa and were taking control of the natives and their resources just like they did to the Native Americans 300 years prior. Blood diamonds also known as conflict diamonds are diamonds that are mined mainly in African countries that are sold to fund civil wars. According to www.amnestyusa.org “The devastating wars in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone’s wars that have cost an estimated 3.7 million lives.” How does this European imperialism relate

Due to these Blood Diamonds, Sierra Leone has faced many social and economic costs. One diamond is capable of causing a civil war. That’s all, a fight over diamond control took many lives. During this civil war, rebels came and committed disgusting crimes including murder,

Much of what I discovered in watching this film has helped me see things in a different light. Not just diamonds but every other product imaginable could’ve commenced the same chaos the diamonds caused in Africa. This commotion may not only happen in Africa but also in any other country. Innocent people like Solomon, who just wanted to live their life in a quiet environment, are dragged into the turmoil constructed by the greedy individuals who only see money and power as the most important things in this world. The fact that the rebels cut off the citizens’ arms so that they won’t be able to vote was very disturbing. They recognize the people’s power that’s why they had to prevent the citizens to vote, so that they could stay in power. The citizens have

3. Description of the IMF Project to Help Africa Crack Down on Illicit Diamond Trade