Diamonds are symbols of wealth, elegance and love all over the world. But in several African countries, they have become instruments of power, justification for terrorizing millions of innocent civilians, and perhaps even helping finance some of the world’s most brutal terrorists. This provocative documentary examines the human cost of the global illicit diamond trade.
Because they are wearable, easily concealed and untraceable, diamonds are easily smuggled and corrupted. In several underdeveloped African countries, warlords use diamonds to finance wars while the rest of the world looks the other way. The rebels forced tens of thousands of people to mine diamonds in brutal, dangerous conditions and under threat of death, for a daily wage of just a cup of rice. In Sierra Leone, rebels have indiscriminately chopped off hands, arms, feet, lips and ears over the years during the civil war, partly funded by the illicit diamond trade.
BLOOD DIAMONDS has contacted some of the world’s leading experts on the history of the diamond trade and gained insight into it, interviewing victims and perpetrators of diamond-related atrocities in countries such as Sierra Leone. Usman Conteh was one such victim. Usman was captured by rebels in Sierra Leone’s Kono district and forced to mine diamonds for the rebels – who then sold or traded the diamonds in exchange for weapons. After months of captivity, Usman escaped, only to find that rebels had killed his family.
The documentary examines the factors that lead to the violence, recounting the suffering in vivid detail and speaking with the group that ultimately uncovered the link between diamonds and several brutal African conflicts. BLOOD DIAMONDS also looks at steps advocacy groups and the diamond industry are finally taking to address the issue.
