A power point by Gabe Sanchez and Evan Regn Conflict diamonds A power point by Gabe Sanchez and Evan Regn Disclaimer: All images used are not owned or produced by us.

Beautiful Diamonds Diamonds in our culture are a symbol of wealthy status. Put on a ring, and it will signify that you are bound in love to a partner of mutual choosing. The diamond industry is an animal that is always hungry. It demands sustenance on cash and will do whatever it can to acquire the beautiful, shiny gems known as diamonds -

Even by illegal means...

What are conflict diamonds?

Conflict diamonds (or blood diamonds) are diamonds that are sold and mined illegally by insurgent or anti government groups in the whole of Africa. They are mainly used to fund anti-government activities and civil wars. A nickname for Conflict diamonds is "Blood diamonds". This is because the groups that are willing to do anything to get them really ARE willing to do anything, especially if it requires death and destruction.

At one point in time, almost 4% of all the World's Diamond production was composed purely of Conflict/Blood diamonds This number has reportedly since decreased down to 1% since the introduction of the Kimberly Process' methods Some rebel groups in particular ransack homes and villages, breaking into prisons and forcing people to join their forces to harvest more diamonds

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Where does all the money go?

Experts estimate that billions of dollars a year are made from the illegal mining and sale of Conflict Diamonds across most countries of Africa. Single "blood" diamonds have been recorded to selling for up to 22,000 USD.

The Effects of Blood Diamonds

Ecological Devastation Mines that are created for the harvesting of blood diamonds are often hollowed out and filled up with water. They are then shortly after abandoned by the people who originally put them there. No proper type of restoration to the environment is ever preformed, leaving it uninhabitable for the local population. This has caused people to be forcibly moved from their homes. Workers that do not meet the minimum quota for diamond mining are usually tortured to the point of near death.

Most of this taints water that some organisms rely on to survive. Not only have people been removed from their homes, but these abandoned water holes have become a breeding ground for Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes in turn spread deadly diseases such as Malaria which raises serious health concerns for the local populous. Wildlife is also effected, as many habitats are destroyed to form mines. Most of this taints water that some organisms rely on to survive.

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Steps taken against Conflict diamonds.

The Kimberly Process The Kimberly Process is a group composed of many African countries that is dedicated to stop the appearance of non-legal diamonds being mined and sold in today's diamond industry.

The Kimberly Process issues very strict policies out to countries that are associated with it. Strict requirements must be met on shipments for diamonds that are incoming and outgoing into these countries. This is mainly to insure that they do not come from war torn areas or have been mined illegally. Unfortunately, diamond traffickers have found ways to easily avoid this. Such as mixing illegal diamonds with already legally mined shipments of diamonds.

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The end.