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The "Blood Diamond" Movie
The Blood Diamond Movie is excellent, we
think that everybody should see it. The focus of the film revolves
around the activities of a fictional character playing the part of a diamond smuggler
who is trying to steal a
stolen pink diamond from a mining camp prisoner amidst the tragic chaos
caused by the civil war which took place in the
Sierra Leone region of
Africa during the 1990's. The story line is excellent, the acting
and effects are top notch, and the movie brings much needed attention to
the fact that abuses of humanity are carried out every day under the
false pretenses of freedom.
Undoubtedly the producers of the movie intended to entertain viewers
while raising public awareness to the tragedies which are reported to
have occurred during the Sierra Leone civil war. While the movie
gives brief reference to the fact that the diamond industry made efforts
to stem the flow of blood diamonds, we think that it would have been
nice if clear credit was given to the diamond industry for the efforts
which have been made to stem the flow of conflict diamonds which are
commonly known as "blood diamonds" because the reality is that 99% of
all the gem quality diamonds sold throughout the world are Conflict Free
due to the Kimberly Process which was put in place through the
efforts of the
World Diamond Council.
We saw the Blood Diamond Movie on opening night and watched with horror
as a small village in the Sierra Leone was invaded by guerilla forces
and entire families were gunned down while attempting to flee the rebel
forces. We couldn't help but think that it reminded us of similar
horrors which were inflicted upon the Native American Indians here in
the United States by the Europeans who settled our nation.
We watched as the villagers in the movie were pulled from their homes
and loved ones and lined up by guerilla forces who then decided their
fate by either shooting them, cutting off their arm, or enslaving them
to either "fight for freedom" or work in the mining camps which the
guerilla forces had taken over to fund their bloody cause. We
couldn't help but think that this must have been what it was like for
the Jews in Nazi occupied Germany. And just like the Nazi's who
occupied Germany, the guerilla forces fighting in the Sierra Leone had
their Nazi Youth who were turned against their families and brainwashed
to fight for the cause... How sad that history seems intent to repeat
these types of tragedies.
Beyond the tragic abuses of humanity which are portrayed in the film,
the focus of the movie revolves around the illicit trade of smuggling
diamonds out of the Sierra Leone in an effort to fund the activities of
the guerrilla forces. We suppose that throughout time, every major
catastrophe which humanity has suffered upon itself in the form of war
has been funded in one way or another by the natural resources available
to the people of each region whether it be gold, diamonds or oil.
And in many cases, these natural assets are the cause of the wars
because people seem to be naturally inclined to fight over the control
of such things. There are many historical experts who argue that
our own civil war was fought over Federal Reserve Notes (the currency of
the time) while others say that the civil war was fought over slavery
and others wills say that it was all about gold. We don't know, we
weren't there, but pick up any history book in the library and you will
find plenty of examples of how our forefathers suffered plenty of abuse
upon their enemies of the time.
Throughout history, people throughout the world have suffered
unspeakable tragedies at the hands of their dictators and governments
and those who have risen to new heights simply because they happen to
possess the fire power to take control of a region by force. We
like the fact that the Blood Diamond Movie is able to raise public
awareness to the tragedies which reportedly occurred during the civil
war which took place in the Sierra Leone during the 1990's, however it
is unfortunate that attention to these tragedies is only coming to the
limelight of public awareness a decade or so after they have taken
place. Where were the movie makers when the tragedies were
actually occurring? Where was the press? Where was the public
concern? If the war was mentioned at all, it was buried in the
back pages of a newspaper or as a last minute blurb on the television
news when a network was looking for something to fill a thirty second
spot which had not been purchased by advertisers. Do you know who
was there? Do you know who was trying to intervene on behalf of
the people of South Africa? The diamond industry and
non-governmental organizations (NGO's) like Amnesty International.
Those of us involved with the diamond industry during the events of the
Sierra Leone civil war were painfully aware of the fact that rebel
forces were cutting off the limbs of people and forcing them to work in
the diamond camps at gunpoint. The fact that rebel forces used
diamonds to fund their efforts does not mean that those efforts, nor the
mining camps, were funded by the diamond industry... not the legitimate
diamond industry, not the diamond industry as a whole. While the
world was reeling from the brutal events which took place during the
civil war in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995, as those past abuses became
"Prime Time" and all the rage to be concerned about (after the fact),
the diamond industry was battling for its existence in the Sierra Leone
where its organized efforts and mining operations were being invaded and
taken over by rebel forces... Corporate America would call this a
"hostel takeover" if conducted on paper, but when rebel forces take over
your facilities by force and use your product to fund its efforts,
apparently the World Court of Public Opinion deems it necessary to
convict an entire industry for dealing in blood diamonds and if we're to
believe the efforts of Hollywood it is a major problem today. Thankfully
it is not. Fewer than 1% of all the gem quality diamonds in the
world were sourced from illegitimate sources and we venture to say that
less than 1% of diamonds offered in the current market stem from
illegitimate sources because the Kimberly Process ensures that reputable
diamond dealers and jewelry stores are dealing in diamonds which are
conflict free.
The global diamond industry has a zero tolerance policy towards the
trade in conflict diamonds. In the year 2000, the World Diamond
Council was formed to help eradicate the trade in conflict diamonds.
Together with non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and governments
throughout the world, the Kimberly Process was adopted which banned the
sale and trafficking of conflict diamonds. Under the Kimberly
Process, rough diamonds mined from legitimate operations are sealed in
tamper resistant containers and certified conflict free by a strict
system of forgery resistant documents and serial numbers. This
documentation is re-certified each time a rough diamond crosses an
international border. We can tell you from personal experience
that while the Kimberly Process is intended to control the flow of rough
diamonds, that it can be challenging to ship lab graded, polished
diamonds, across borders because the customs departments of major
countries of diamond imports such as the United States, Canada and the
European nations are exceptionally zealous and strict in the enforcement
of the demands of the Kimberly Diamond Act.
At present, the Kimberly Process is law in 69 countries and is backed by
the United Nations. As diamond dealers, we are required to source
the diamonds which we sell only from suppliers who comply with the
provisions of the Kimberly Diamond Act and which have provided us with
written assurance that the diamonds have been mined and processed by
legitimate means which are free from conflict. Because of the
Kimberly Process, more than 99% of all gem quality diamonds are from
sources which are conflict free. But the diamond industry will not
stop its efforts until conflict diamonds no longer exist and the illegal
trafficking of conflict diamonds is completely eradicated.
How your diamond purchase helps the
world...
The diamond industry is vital to the Southern Africa economy" -
Nelson Mandela
Fact: 65% of the world's diamonds come
from African countries.
Fact: The $8.4 billion African diamond industry is one of the
fundamental pillars of the African economy.
Fact: Approximately 5 million people have access to health care due to
diamond revenues.
Fact: An estimated 10 million people globally are directly or indirectly
supported by the diamond industry.
Fact: Revenues from the diamond industry help provide necessary
counseling, testing, education, treatment programs, clinics and hospices
for HIV / AIDS patients.
Fact: The charity
Jewelers
for Children funds a community based care program for orphaned
children in South Africa.
The blood on the hands of the world's children today is not being funded
by diamonds, but rather by the war to control the flow of oil. The
difference between the War in Iraq and the civil wars which took place
in the Sierra Leone and Bosnia is that we are intently aware of this
particular travesty because many of our family members are fighting this
war for freedom. Unlike other wars which take place "over there"
in countries unknown and of little importance to those who are not
directly involved by nationality, family ties or business, the tragedies
taking place during the war in Iraq are known to all because it is World
News... The civil war which took place in the Sierra Leone during the
1990's and which was allegedly funded by blood diamonds was not world
news because it took place over there in a place far, far away from the
comforts of our living rooms and were far too distant even for the reach
of our cable news empowered television sets... But it was real, it was
real to the people of South Africa, and it was real to legitimate
members of the diamond trade who stood up and elected to take action and
who formed the World Diamond Council which created a plan of action
called the Kimberly Diamond Act. The legitimate diamond industry
began to do its part to stem the flow of conflict diamonds long before
it became popular to do so, and well before the Blood Diamond Movie went
into production. Here is how you can make a difference and help us
stamp out those who would profit upon the suffering of others...
Always buy your diamonds and jewelry from a legitimate dealer.
A reputable jeweler should only buy from suppliers who can warrant that their diamonds are from sources free from conflict. Pawn dealers and jewelry stores which buy jewelry "off the street" from people who walk into their store and who are not legitimate members of the diamond industry can not make this claim... We buy all of our diamonds and jewelry from legitimate firms, we do not buy off the street. To determine whether your local jeweler buys off the street, just drop by and ask them if they "are interested in purchasing this diamond ring" and if they are interested, then they buy off the street... And you can not be guaranteed that the other diamonds and jewelry that they offer you have been obtained by legitimate means... If you don't want to buy your jewelry from a jeweler which doesn't buy off the street to stem the flow of conflict diamonds, then don't buy from them because doing so may support criminal activities in your area, i.e. the next diamond which your jeweler buys "off the street" might have been stolen from your house by the meth head that lives around the corner.
Don't buy diamonds and jewelry from private parties
For every person who is concerned about conflict diamonds and the tragedies imposed upon the people of the Sierra Leone during the civil war that occurred there, there are ten other people who are more interested in saving a buck and who will buy their jewelry from a private party through a classified advertisement or online auction. Well if you were going to traffic in conflict diamonds, do you think it would be easier to sell those diamonds to the general public by appealing to their sense of greed, by enticing them with the savings of a little money? Or do you believe that it might be easier to try to sell those conflict diamonds to a member of the legitimate diamond trade who is keenly aware of the tragedies created by the trade of conflict diamonds, and who is likely paranoid enough to think that you might be an undercover agent from the F.B.I., I.R.S., or the U.S. Treasury Department, sent to determine whether they might be willing to consider trafficking in conflict diamonds and whether they are in compliance with Federal Law and can produce (1) a written document defining their corporate policy pertaining to the trafficking of conflict diamonds; and (2) written receipts from their suppliers indicating that all of the diamonds currently in their possession and which they have purchased in the past since the passing of the Kimberly Diamond Act into law were purchased from legitimate sources under the guidelines of the Kimberly Diamond Act; and (3) a separate written policy pertaining to the provisions which they have in place to prevent them from participating in the illegal practice of money laundering? If you guessed that is might be easier to sell conflict diamonds to the general public via a classified advertisement or online auction and appealing to their greed, then you're a winner!
The diamonds which we sell are conflict free!
We have and always will be concerned about the illegal trafficking of diamonds, colored gems and jewelry. All of the diamonds, colored gems and jewelry which we represent have been purchased from legitimate sources which are verifiable members of the diamond and jewelry industry. We actively support the intentions of the Kimberly Diamond Act and conduct our business within the guidelines of the Kimberly Process. We do not purchase diamonds or jewelry "off the street" and are zealous about maintaining our integrity. If you're looking to be investigated for money laundering or trafficking in conflict diamonds and/or stolen gems, just give us a call and approach us with the wrong type of deal, operators are standing by to set up your custom sting operation and expedite your trip to Club Fed v
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