The Price of “Diamonds are Forever” Too Often Misery for Africa

But for the people of Africa, diamonds bring death rather than happiness.

The deadly diamond trade has gone on for decades, in some cases, centuries, in the African countries of Angola, Sierra Leone, and Democratic Republic of Congo where diamonds are linked to widespread human rights abuse. Sometimes it happens at the hands of insurgent groups, who use diamonds to fuel atrocities, and sometimes it’s an unscrupulous quest for diamonds at the hands of governments.

Revolutionary United FrontBut it’s not high fashion for the world’s most sought-after symbol of prestige that they’re after. It’s arms. “We look specifically at Sierra Leone, and the Revolutionary United Front, who started to take control of the diamond mines, and trade those diamonds for weapons for the insurgents. We’ve seen that throughout continents,” said Mona Cadena, field representative for Amnesty International in San Francisco. Cadena, an expert in international diamond exploitation, said the illicit diamond market is used in the same way as other resources, such as timber, or gold, are being exploited, with the end goal of buying weapons and planes to fuel oppression.

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