Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

The Fifth "C" of Diamond Shopping

Are you in a relationship? Guys: Are you thinking of giving diamonds to your girlfriend to show your love for her? Girls: Do you think diamonds are the ultimate gift of ever-lasting love? Think again. Beware of conflict diamonds because you do not want the love that you have for each other to be tainted.

Do not let the sparkles of the diamond fool you. They are not as harmless as they appear. Sure, the diamonds hanging around your neck may look fabulous but have you ever wondered where those shiny gems originated? You probably know that diamonds are rare crystallized stones made out of carbon, one of the hardest substances known to man. Are diamonds literally to die for? Are those glittery rocks worth the death of millions of people? Are those gleaming compositions of carbon worth the mass murders? Are diamonds worth a country’s bloodshed? The answer is “no.”

When you buy your diamonds, what do you usually consider? According to a column in the Essence magazine, the 4 C’s of diamond shopping include: the cut, the clarity, the color, and the cost. But what about the fifth hidden “C” that most people fail to recognize? What about the possible conflict of the diamond’s manufacture?

The exportation of conflict diamonds, also called blood diamonds, is a multi-billion dollar industry. Civilians in Africa have been massacred to produce these forever lasting diamonds. Conflict diamonds are diamonds that are mined and sold purely to purchase military arms and to fund civil war.

“Diamonds have financed bloody civil wars in which child soldiers have disfigured civilians by hacking off their hands” (McNeil Jr., par. 1). Rebel forces in Sierra Leone, Africa beginning in 1991, would kidnap children, pull them away from their loved ones, and train them as soldiers. Child soldiers were trained by the rebels in thousands, formed armies, and were manipulated and brainwashed into killing masses of people during the civil war. These child soldiers were also used to supervise captured civilians who were forced to mine for diamonds, which included the execution of any civilian who did not obey. Rebels used the diamonds obtained by the captured civilians to fund war. The livelihood of the children is lost, civilians of Sierra Leone live in turmoil, and innocent lives are terminated. What is being done to combat this crusade?

It has been nearly four years since the creation of the Kimberley Process, an effort made by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to strangle the exportation of conflict diamonds. Effective in 2003, the law required all diamonds to be certified and free from conflict, which meant that they were not being mined by rebel forces. However, the Kimberley Process has many loopholes. “The Kimberley Process exempts from its sanctions the diamonds produced by government-owned or sanctioned mines, even if these mines violates human rights. The Kimberley Process so far has no independent monitoring and most conflict diamonds are simply not being intercepted” (Roberts, 25). Even the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) admitted that there is fallout in the Kimberley Process. In a September 2006 report, they had said flatly, "U.S. control systems cannot help deter illicit rough diamonds from entering the legitimate trade” (qtd. in Zoellner, 67).

If most conflict diamonds are not being intercepted, this means consumers are apt to purchase diamonds helping to fund a civil war in another country. According to an Internet website set up by the World Diamond Council, “the problem is not the diamonds themselves but the rebels who exploit diamonds (along with other natural resources) to achieve their illicit goals.” Do you want to be responsible for helping these rebels carry out illegal activities that harm innocent people?

The World Diamond Council claims,

The economic and social infrastructure of Sierra Leone is not well developed. Around two thirds of the population :survive by subsistence agriculture, although alluvial diamond mining (mining that extracts diamonds from :deposits of sand, gravel and clay, which have been naturally transported by water erosion and deposited along either :the banks of a river, the shoreline or on the bed of the ocean) accounts for nearly half of the country's exports :and is the most significant source of hard currency earnings (“Conflict Diamonds”).

If the circulation of conflict diamonds continues, that means diamonds are being exploited. Sierra Leone’s economy and the economies of other countries (such as Angola, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast) whose infrastructure depends on diamonds will decline.

Not only does the exploitation hurt the country’s economy but it also affects the individuals. In an article of Time magazine, Tom Zoellner writes, “Even when the diamonds are not smuggled or traded for guns, the wages for the miners can be outrageously unfair. I met a team of diggers in the Central African Republic who were routinely paid $200 for large-carat diamonds that would easily retail for $40,000 in the U.S.” Does this sound ethical to you?

Why buy a diamond anyway? A diamond is an exaggeration of an American tradition. You do not need a big “rock” to symbolize long-lasting love. American consumers, as a society, have been manipulated and misled into the conception that we need a diamond to prove affection to our loved ones. Tell me, how many people buy their fiancées a diamond as a symbol of engagement? How many of those diamonds are implicating the death of a nation? Why is the so-called worldwide symbol of love produced with a huge cost to a country’s people? Consumers must have a voice in this market: you must help stop violence from recurring in other countries. Dan Archer, the main character from the movie Blood Diamond, says that consumers are not directly “financing the war but creating a situation where it pays to keep it going.” Buying conflict diamonds is a contribution to manslaughter.

Though a symbol of American tradition does not disintegrate in a day, you as a consumer must enforce and insist that the diamonds you buy are not coming from these conflicted countries in any shape or form. You must ensure that your diamonds are clean and conflict-free. To accomplish this, it is your right to ask your retailers about the diamonds before you buy them. The Diamond’s Buyer’s Guide, supported by the Global Witness, suggests:

You can ask the salesperson four questions to find out what they are doing to help prevent the trade in conflict :diamonds… [1] How can I be sure that none of your jewelry contains conflict diamonds? [2] Do you know where the :diamonds you sell come from? [3] Can I see a copy of your company’s policy on conflict diamonds? [4] Can you show :me a written guarantee from your diamond suppliers stating that your diamonds are conflict-free?

If your retailer refuses or is unable to answer any of these questions, try somewhere else.

Don’t want to give up your diamonds? Is there another alternative? Buy your diamonds from Canada. Patty Rhule of USA Today informs, “Brilliant Earth, a San Francisco-based jeweler, gets its diamonds from Canada, where founder Beth Gerstein says diamond certification goes beyond the standards of the Kimberley Process to make sure diamonds are not obtained through child labor or worker exploitation.” The Voluntary Code of Conduct for Authenticating Canadian Diamond Claims “requires each company to initiate a paper trail that tracks a diamond’s progression from the mines to its retail destination” (Wickell, par. 10).

If you plan to give your significant other a diamond to symbolize your love for him or her, make sure that the diamond is not conflicted. If you receive a diamond as a gift from your loved one, it is your responsibility to be aware of the taint that could be associated with your diamond. How would you feel if you knew that the diamond on your finger cost another person’s life?

So snap out of the trance of shiny, sparkly diamonds and take action. Insist on a guarantee that the diamond is conflict-free. Urge the government and the diamond industry to take higher measures to stop the flow and circulation of blood diamonds. You can help stop the bloodshed.

Annerrs 14:52, 3 May 2007 (EDT)

Bibliography

Ablorh-Odjidja, E. “Conflict Diamonds The Kimberley Process for Corruption.” New African August/September 2003. Issue 421. Pages 40-41.

In this article, the author writes about how The Kimberley Process still isn’t enough to stop the flow of conflict diamonds.

Blood Diamond. Dir. Edward Zwick. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2006.

This film features an African-born smuggler who attempts to find a pink diamond in order to create profit.

“Combating Conflict Diamonds.” Global Witness. 19 April 2007 <http://www.globalwitness.org/pages/en/conflict_diamonds.html>

The Global Witness set up a website to inform the public about conflict diamonds and what can be done to stop the circulation of these :diamonds.

“Conflict Diamonds.” Amnesty International USA. 2007. Amnesty International USA. 19 April 2007 :<http://www.amnestyusa.org/OurIssues/ConflictDiamonds/page.do?id=1011014&n1=3&n2=74>

This website gives background information to what a conflict diamond is.

“Conflict Diamonds.” World Diamond Council. 2 May 2007 <http://www.diamondfacts.org/conflict/background.html>

This website by the World Diamond Council gives history and economic background of conflicted countries such as Sierra Leone, the :Ivory Coast, Angola, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo.

“KPCS.” Kimberley Process. 1 May 2007 :<http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=18&Itemid=35>

This website showed the online text version of the Kimberley Process.

Lieber, Ron. “Between a Rock and a Hard Place.” Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition 02/04/2006. Vol. 247 Issue 29. Page B1.

This article gives an insight on the conflict diamond situation.

McNeil Jr., Donald G. “Measuring A Diamond’s True Price.” The New York Times. 12/17/2006. Par. 1.

This article raises public awareness of conflict diamonds and describes how the exploitation of conflict diamonds affects the :civilians.

Rhule, Patty. “Choose gems that are legit.” USA Today 12/04/2006. Section: Life. Page 02d.

This article gives a solution and/or an alternative option to the conflict diamond situation.

Roberts, Janine. “Diamonds in the rough.” New Internationalist May 2004. Issue 367. Pages 24-25.

This article gives an insight on the conflict diamond situation.

“Untitled.” Essence. February 1997. Vol. 27 Issue 10. Section: Style.

This short article informs the public about the “4 C’s of diamond shopping.”

Warhurst, Alyson. “The Other Diamond Story” Business Week 12/11/2006. Page 29.

This article talks about the diamond industry and their take on the conflict diamond situation. The author writes about what diamond companies have done to help the situation.

Wickell, Carly. “Conflict Diamonds-Blood Diamonds.” About: Jewelry/Accessories. 2007. About, Inc., A Part of the New York Times :Company. 19 April 2007 <http://jewelry.about.com/cs/diamondmining/a/diamonds.htm>

This article online briefly talks about the background on conflict diamonds and shows how the alternative, buying Canadian diamonds, are an effective way to help stop the circulation of conflict diamonds.

Zoellner, Tom. “So, Should You Buy A Diamond?” Time 11/27/2006. Vol. 168 Issue 22. Page 67.

The author briefly talks about his experience going to Africa and talking to mine workers. Also, the author touched about what :consumers can do to help stop conflict diamonds from circulating.