Truth Secret about Diamonds

History of Blood Diamonds

The bloodshed and violence that surrounds blood diamonds is a topic that has gained recent attention and public awareness. For over a century, innocent people have suffered abuse, mutilation and death by the local diamond trades in Africa. These stories of blood diamonds struck a chord in millions of people, especially because it was hard to face that such a beautiful piece of jewelry could come at the expense of such innocent people.

Back in 1867, a 15 year-old boy named Stephanus Erasmus Jacobs found a small, white pebble on the ground in an area which is now known as South Africa. After playing with this small pebble for quite some time, the boy turned the pretty stone over to his neighbor, Schalk van Niekerk, who was known for collecting unique stones. The neighbor was unsure of what this stone was, so he turned it into a traveling peddler named John O‘Reilly. The peddler showed it to his friend, a magistrate named Lourenzo Boyes, who in turn saw that this mysterious pebble could etch glass. The stone was declared a diamond and was showcased at the World’s Fair.

Although there was some controversy surrounding the finding of this diamond, the story gained more validation when another large diamond was found in the same spot. It was then that South Africa became a central location for mining for diamonds. As diamonds grew in worth and value, mining became more dangerous and life threatening. There were many groups of people that were trying to gain control of the land and something that was supposed to grant the people of South Africa prosperity and wealth, instead brought bloodshed, mutilation and death.

During the 1930’s when the Great Depression hit, the market of diamonds was challenged. It was then that the slogan “A Diamond Is Forever” was created, which meant that in order to have true meaning, a diamond should be untouched by any other woman, thus preventing secondary markets. Out of this grew blood diamonds, which are diamonds that are mined and sold by terrorist groups and rebel armies. The money gained is to fund weapons to attack against the government. The countries where blood diamonds are found include Sierra Leone, Angola and The Congo.

Perhaps the worst of the bloodshed came in the 1990s when people were allowed to vote in order to cease the guerilla warfare that was taking place. To vote, people had to use their thumbprint and to avoid them from doing so, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) mutilated people’s hands and arms. In 2000, heads from these diamond states met with one another to stop the selling of blood diamonds. Through this, the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme was born, which makes selling these blood diamonds illegal.