Imagine growing up in an area where you and your entire family are kidnapped to become soldiers in a mine. In this mine you are treated extremely poorly and frequently loose your limbs, die or watch your family member die to prevent competition against other groups doing the same thing. That is exactly what is happening in Sierra Leone, Africa, even years after an apparent settlement was made to prevent this from happening anymore. There are rules set in place so this does not happen anymore but these rules are not enforced and blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, are still being shipped to countries all around the world to sell to people like you and I. These diamonds generate about $7.5 billion dollars annually and have contributed to over 4 million deaths in the process.
After watching a presentation about blood diamonds in one of my classes, I wonder why jewelery companies aren't branding their diamonds as NON blood diamonds. I realize they are more expensive but where are our morals if we can't pay a little more for the rock on our finger in order to save a life?
There are papers you can ask to see at the jewelers to prove that a diamond isn't a blood diamond but a majority of diamonds are. So why not start a company called Conflict Free Diamonds? Or at least advertise more that all the diamonds purchased by the company are conflict-free? I know it's not the most romantic thing in the world but I bet that sort of branding would be popular. Brand to save a life.
To the right is a video and song by Kanye West promoting conflict-free diamonds.
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