If i asking you what you know about diamond?? I believe that almost people will telling me diamond is beautiful, it is expensive, it is a most valueble jewel or it is a sign of forever. But if u asking me, i will tell u, diamond represent war, blood spilling, conflict and sign of death.

During the past five years, substantial attention has been paid to the issue of “conflict” or “blood” diamonds. Diamonds from countries such as Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been used to fund combatants, both rebel and government, whose main targets are often civilians. The civil wars during the 1990’s in Sierra Leone left 50,000 dead, and 500,000 died in Angola. The violence in Angola escalated during a six-month period in 1993 in which 180,000 died. Both government and rebel soldiers committed atrocities and used amputations as a way to coerce and terrorize the countryside. Diamonds played a key role in obtaining funds to provide these combatants with food, clothing, transportation, and most significantly, weapons. Finding buyers wasn’t particularly hard and rebel groups such as the RUF in Sierra Leone and UNITA in Angola obtained approximately $200 million per year from these sales.

Diamonds became a central issue for a number of reasons. First, rough diamonds (which are later polished into gemstones) represent an $8 billion dollar annual market. Secondly, the trading centers into which these stones flow, such as Antwerp,Tel Aviv, and London, as well as major consumer markets such as the United States have relatively scarce supplies. Thirdly, the diamonds in Sierra Leone are of very high quality (as opposed to industrial diamonds, which cannot be used for jewelry) and they are alluvial — that is, they are found on the earth’s surface, usually in river beds, and are accessible to anyone with a few basic hand tools and skills. And with governments acting essentially as organized crime syndicates, these resources quickly became the property of whoever had the monopoly on violence at the time.

"Diamonds are forever" it is often said. But lives are not.We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilations and death for the sake of conflict diamonds. "gold ,oil, ivory, diamond…." Africa have already paid too much, Let them live a better life. When you try to get a jewelry, please think about that people who are working in the mining area, they spend their blood to change the precious stone, when u wear it on your neck or on your hand,at the same time you wear their blood also.

Every times when people looking the diamond advertisement on TV or megazine, they see shinning of diamond, but i see blood, the blood of hundred thousand africa mine worker, may be you not agree what i am try to show you, but thats no argue, thats truth!!!