Diamonds are a Girls best friend! ...Tiffany...Cartier...
Has anyone seen the new movie Blood Diamond? If not, rent it, buy it, watch it. Education is worth the 15$ the movie might cost.
Girls everywhere imagine the perfect wedding ring, and women all around the globe walk into jewelry stores to get them. Many, I'm sure, dont realize what is really behind that diamond on their finger. And hopefully, I can educate at least one person, so that they dont go blindly into the next shop and buy a Blood Diamond.
Diamond Mining operations were set up in Africa (Places like Sierra Leone, from the movie), by the Rebel Revolutionaries, and the Locals were taken and forced to work to find diamonds. These diamonds would be taken and sold to diamond companies to fuel the Rebels efforts. Out of 5.5 Million people in Africa, these 'revolutionaries' have displaced 2.5 Million people, killed tens of thousands through raiding villiages and towns, and have forcibly inducded many men and children into their ranks.
Amnesty International has teamed up with UNICEF - United Nations Children Fund - and with the help of the UN has created the The Kimberley Process which is designed to certify the origin of diamonds from sources which are free of conflict. Great right? yeah...Many people critizise its effectiveness in acutally restricting conflict diamonds. Amnesty stated, "[We] welcome the Kimberley Process as an important step to dealing with the problem of conflict diamonds. But until the diamond trade is subject to mandatory, impartial monitoring, there is still no effective guarantee that all conflict diamonds will be identified and removed from the market." So abuse to the Process is obviously happening still, such as smuggling diamonds across borders, and smuggling diamonds into certified facilities.
America pockets these diamonds as a symbol of success, and rappers are especially bad. The amount of your 'bling' as a black man is a symbol that you have 'arrived'. Whatever that means. Recently, 3 big time rappers (Paul Wall, Raekwon and Tego Calderon) were filmed in a documentary as they traveled Africa were they met the locals and visted refugee camps and diamond mines. They were hit by the realization that their 'bling' caused so many deaths. In the documentary, Kayne West states, "It’s just ironic that what made black people feel so empowered was completely demoralizing and destroying other black people." 'Blinging' with a conscience. I should say so.
You see, there are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in Africa alone. Abducted as young as 8 years old many of these children have little to no education. The lucky ones have about a year. UNICEF recently received 3,000 Child soldiers that were released by the Sudanese Rebels. Thats wonderful. Sierra Leone has also agreed to being releaseing these abducted children. I Hear Their Cries
So please, next time you are in a Jewelers store, ask for Conflict-free Diamonds. It may not seem like much, but if we can reduce the demand, then we can reduce the violence.
Stop Blood Diamonds
Please help, I think this is a noble cause, and you can help.
Girls everywhere imagine the perfect wedding ring, and women all around the globe walk into jewelry stores to get them. Many, I'm sure, dont realize what is really behind that diamond on their finger. And hopefully, I can educate at least one person, so that they dont go blindly into the next shop and buy a Blood Diamond.
Diamond Mining operations were set up in Africa (Places like Sierra Leone, from the movie), by the Rebel Revolutionaries, and the Locals were taken and forced to work to find diamonds. These diamonds would be taken and sold to diamond companies to fuel the Rebels efforts. Out of 5.5 Million people in Africa, these 'revolutionaries' have displaced 2.5 Million people, killed tens of thousands through raiding villiages and towns, and have forcibly inducded many men and children into their ranks.
Amnesty International has teamed up with UNICEF - United Nations Children Fund - and with the help of the UN has created the The Kimberley Process which is designed to certify the origin of diamonds from sources which are free of conflict. Great right? yeah...Many people critizise its effectiveness in acutally restricting conflict diamonds. Amnesty stated, "[We] welcome the Kimberley Process as an important step to dealing with the problem of conflict diamonds. But until the diamond trade is subject to mandatory, impartial monitoring, there is still no effective guarantee that all conflict diamonds will be identified and removed from the market." So abuse to the Process is obviously happening still, such as smuggling diamonds across borders, and smuggling diamonds into certified facilities.
America pockets these diamonds as a symbol of success, and rappers are especially bad. The amount of your 'bling' as a black man is a symbol that you have 'arrived'. Whatever that means. Recently, 3 big time rappers (Paul Wall, Raekwon and Tego Calderon) were filmed in a documentary as they traveled Africa were they met the locals and visted refugee camps and diamond mines. They were hit by the realization that their 'bling' caused so many deaths. In the documentary, Kayne West states, "It’s just ironic that what made black people feel so empowered was completely demoralizing and destroying other black people." 'Blinging' with a conscience. I should say so.
You see, there are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in Africa alone. Abducted as young as 8 years old many of these children have little to no education. The lucky ones have about a year. UNICEF recently received 3,000 Child soldiers that were released by the Sudanese Rebels. Thats wonderful. Sierra Leone has also agreed to being releaseing these abducted children. I Hear Their Cries
So please, next time you are in a Jewelers store, ask for Conflict-free Diamonds. It may not seem like much, but if we can reduce the demand, then we can reduce the violence.
Stop Blood Diamonds
Please help, I think this is a noble cause, and you can help.