Blood Diamonds Of Sierra Leone: Understanding The Human Drama Behind This Famous Diamond Pieces

The blood diamonds of Sierra Leone is one of the most famous and most controversial diamonds in the history of humankind. The human drama of sufferings and depravity that goes with ever piece of blood diamond extracted in the soil of Sierra Leone is something that most people simply could not comprehend. Why should people suffer so much for something that technically belongs to them? Note that even though Sierra Leone has some of the richest diamond mines in the world, the people of this country continue to suffer extreme poverty. Hundreds of people in this country die of hunger every month and children at very young age due to malnutrition.

War In Sierra Leone

In March of 1991, the conflict over the blood diamonds in Sierra Leone started. Armed men crossed the border in Liberia and attacked the towns in the southern and eastern part of Sierra Leone. Thousands of people died at the aftermath of the attacks. Most of those casualties were women and children. The violence in the area escalated and by 1992, the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.), a rebel group in Sierra Leone, attacked and seize control of Kono, the diamond mining capital of Sierra Leone. The agenda of this group was to take command of the production of blood diamonds in the area.

In an effort to regain control over the blood diamonds in Kono, the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) went to war against the R.U.F rebels. However, instead of restoring democratic civilian rule in the area, the N.P.R.C. only succeeded in inflicting more sufferings on the people. Many civilians were caught in the crossfire with the rebels and became casualties of war. The violence in the area also affected the economic activities of the people. Thousands and thousands of people lost their properties and their means of livelihood. Many people were forced to work for meager pay at the diamond fields. In fact, many people who were considered as prisoners of either the RUF or the NPRC were made to render forced labor in the mine.

Due to the fact that thousands of people lost their lives in the diamond mines of Sierra Leone, humanitarian organizations from all over the globe called upon the buyers of blood diamonds in this area to stop purchasing these blood diamonds. Although there were some business people who heeded to the call of these humanitarian groups, many jewelry traders still continue to do business in the area. You see, for some people, the lure of the blood diamonds is simply too great to resist.