BLOOD DIAMONDS

Diamonds symbolise

• wealth, love, and grace

In several African nations it simbolised

• power

They were used to

• Terrorise millions of innocent civilians

And may have even helped finance some of the world's most brutal terrorists

The History

In 1991 • a few hundred men

crossed the Liberian border •attacked towns in eastern

and southern Sierra Leone

Once the war began:

• money became scarce • people took things into their own

hands • They needed other ways to fund

the war

• The diamond in Africa is the most valued item

The War

Liberia is the main area of conflict.

It is the key meeting place for

rebels, terrorists and other

criminal groups to exchangeblood diamonds for weapons.

Criminals are rarely caught and use

the money to purchase illegalweapons

Thousands of Sierra Leoneans have been killed and mutilated mainly due to

no large scale, international intervention.

And still it continues…

The Government

The Kimberley Process (KPCS) started in 2002 and is a process started to stop criminals who profit from the illicit trade in rough diamonds

A diamond certification evaluation sheet must be completed, that displays the diamonds origin

Otherwise the shipment of that diamond must be confiscated

The major difficulty is distinguishing between a “genuine” diamond and a “conflict” diamond.

Once any diamond is sent off and polished, discovering its origin is impossible!

Blood diamonds still contribute to 30% of global trade

The Victims

Innocent children are turned into soldiers and forced to mine for small bits of carbon

• 50,000 have been killed• Half the population displaced• More than two-thirds of its already severely

limited infrastructure destroyed• 130,000 people have been killed• Tens of thousands raped, abused, and

mutilated • Children make around twenty cents a day

• Global diamond trade makes around €60 billion a year

The Soldiers

Sometimes I wonder... will God ever forgive us for what we've done to each other? Then I look around and I realize... God left this

place a long time ago. 

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/

HOTEL RWANDA

The First Genocide…:

1959–61 around 100,000 Tutsis were massacred in Rwanda in what is known as the 'Hutu revolution', (1/3 of the population)

Rwandan Genocide

The most horrible and systematic human massacre we have had occasion to witness since the extermination of the Jews by the

Nazis.

- British Philosopher, Bertrand Russell

The Second Genocide…:

In 1994 approximately 800,000 Tutsis and

Hutu moderates were hacked to death in a

carefully organised program of genocide.

If the pictures of tens of thousands of human bodies being gnawed on by dogs do not

wake us out of our apathy, I do not know what will.

- Secretary General of UN

The whole world failed Rwanda…

- UN member

The Aftermat

Blood Diamond – The true Story

Hotel Rwanda – Hope rises

An African Journey