Blood Diamonds

History of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002)

The Sierra Leone Civil War lasted from 1991-2002. It began on March 23rd 1991 by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) with the support of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) in attempts to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government.

Causes of the War

Political History

Sierra Leone gained their independence their independence in 1961 from the United Kingdom. After the death of Sierra Leone's first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Margai in 1964, the political party became corrupted mismanaged, due to electoral violence, led to a weaker civil society and the fall of the educational system.

Albert Margai

After Sir Milton Margai's reign as Prime Minister, his brother Albert Margai took over. However, Albert did not share the same values as his brother, but instead, used aggression and military power to suppress multi-party elections that wanted throw him off of power.

Siaka Stevens

Siaka Stevens rose to power in 1968 during Sierra Leone's constitutional democracy. Some call is reign the '17 years plague of locusts' due to the destruction of every state institution and that parliament was left corrupted and bankrupt. After leaving power, Sierra Leone became a one party state.

Joseph Momoh

In 1985 power was passed down to Joseph Momoh, a Major General. During Momoh's, reign, he continued the spread of corruption and further economic collapse. Important commodities like oil became scarce. Once the country hit rock bottom, they could no longer pay teachers and provide for the education system, so children were left at home and on the streets without an education. As the country's infrastructure began to further deteriorate many of Sierra Leone's skilled and professional workers left the country. By 1991, Sierra Leone became ranked as one of the poorest country's in the world.

Diamonds and the 'Resource Curse'

The Kono and Kenema districts of Eastern and Southern Leone are rich in alluvial diamonds which are easily accessible through excavation and transport. Since their rise in the 1930s they have become a highly sought after commodity and has been used to counteract the poor economic and government infrastructure left behind the last prime ministers. The National Diamond Mining Corporation or (DIMCO) was a joint venture between De Beers and the government. The joint venture however, was made to benefit solely the government and the high ranking business elites. Eventually De Beers pulled out of the joint venture in 1984, which left the government losing control of all their diamond mines soon after. By the mid to late 80,s all diamond trade became a commodity that was being smuggled and traded illicitly by private investors.

RUF and Diamonds

The discovery of diamonds became a highly sought after commodity by not only Sierra Leone, but also the RUF. Diamonds helped purchase arms and equipment from neighboring countries like Guinea and Liberia. Due to how easily diamonds were accessed in places like, Kono violence was used to maintain control of these places and ensure that they were in control of the diamond commodity.

Mane Invasions (16th century)

A mid 16th century conquest by the Mane people. The Mane are a warrior-like people that are highly organized and well-armed. The conquest lasted for 15-20 years and resulted in the subjugation of thousands of indigenous people, a halt in Sierra Leone's economy, the loss of political autonomy, and the increase of slave trade to Europeans.

Province of Freedom (17871789)

The Province of Freedom was a plan established by the Committee for the Relief of Black Poor in 1787. The 'Province of Freedom' settled in Granville Town and was a place of refuge for African Americans seeking refuge with the British during the American Revolution and other people of color that were inhabitants of London.

Freetown Colony (1792-1800)

Freetown is the largest city and is the capital city of Sierra Leone. It was discovered by British Lieutenant John Clarkson in 1787. Freetown was part of a larger colony of Sierra Leone and was first founded by the Sierra Leone Company (SLC). William Wilberforce is abolitionist who first discovered SLC, in intentions to rehabilitate the black poor and former slaves of North America into Freetown. To rehabilitate these people William hoped to use the power of Christianity to bring people together and in the end to stop slave trading as a whole.

Debeers & the Diamond Trade

History

Important Dates in De Beers History
1871: De Beers and Kimberly mine is found and will soon become the richest mine for an entire century
1888: De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited is established on March 12. Cecil Rhodes is named as the founding chairman
1905: The Cullinan Diamond is found at 3106.75 carats, making it the largest diamond ever found
1928: Diamond cutting comes to South Africa
1932: The Great Depression causes De Beers to close down all of their mines
1947: Frances Gerety writes the famous slogan "A diamond is forever"
1967: The Orapa Kimberlite Pipe is discovered, making it the second largest pipe in the world covering 262 acres at the surface
1969: De Beers partners with the Government of the Republic of Botswana, in establishing Debswana, to begin the development of the Orapa Mine
1972: The Jwaneng Kimberlite Pipe is discovered and soon becomes the richest diamond mine, bringing in a total of 11 million carats a year.
1992: Veneta Mine is discovered in South Africa
1994: De Beers creates a joint venture with the Republic of Namibia to mine diamonds in their country.
2012: De Beers becomes a member of the Anglo American PLC Group

Conflict Diamond Scandal

De Beers has been accused of trading and selling 'conflict diamonds' to its consumers. Back in the 1930s De Beers was in a joint venture with the Sierra Leone government called the National Diamond Mining Corporation. This joint venture became profitable, however only benefiting themselves and not the citizens of Sierra Leone. Back in 2000, De Beers was accused by human rights activists of buying diamonds from RUF rebels, which further funds the war in Sierra Leone. De Beers however, used this scandal to further explain their commercial problems and share price drops by using diamonds as a 'squeaky clean' luxury item and that any idea of 'conflict' to get the diamonds were not in question.

Read more on the 'Conflict Diamond' Scandal on De Beers here:http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/22/business/controversy-over-diamonds-made-into-virtue-by-de-beers.html

Atrocities

Child Soldiers

Slavery

Murder and Amputation

Rape

Diamonds & the Public

The World Diamond Council

The primary objective of the World Diamond Council or the WDC, is to develop and implement regulatory and voluntary systems to control the diamond trade by the United Nations and the Kimberly Process.

The WDC has established the System of Warranties which further extends the effect of The Kimberly Process in the diamond trade. WDC assists the Kimberly Process financially and technically to ensure the best results possible. WDC is highly regarded as the communication center regarding the voluntary and regulatory systems to prevent the trade of conflict diamonds.

More info on the World Diamond Council here: http://www.worlddiamondcouncil.org/about-wdc/mission-statement

What can be done ?

Kimberly Process

What is it?

The Kimberly Process is a initiative
to end the trade of "conflict diamonds"
in South Africa. This is to ensure that
all diamond purchases are not fueled
by rebel processes and government intervention.

How does it work?

The Kimberly Process works in such that
the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
acts as an additional requirement of diamonds being imported or exported from countries. This scheme ensures that the diamonds are not the result of conflicts and that the global market is blocked from 'conflict diamonds'

Blood Diamond Movie

Blood Diamond is a movie that takes place during the 1990s in the midst of the Sierra Leone Civil War. Blood Diamond depicts the story of Solomon Vandy and Danny Parcher in there attempts to find and sell a highly sought after diamond to buy their way out of Sierra Leone.

Other countries & Industries

Oil and Petroleum Refining

In 2014 itself, 32% of Sierra Leone's main imports have been refined petroleum, with only rice being at 4.4%.

Agriculture

Sierra Leone's main agricultural dependency is on rice. In 2013 local rice farms in Sierra Leone has harvested over 683,000 tonnes of rice. Local rice farms themselves, contribute towards to over 75% of Sierra Leone's Agricultural GDP.

To a view a more in depth analysis and chart of these statistics, got to: http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/sle/ This website also gives insight into Sierra Leone's major exporters and competing country's.

Iron ore/Other Minerals

In 2014 Sierra Leone exported:
65% in Iron Ore
11% in Tin Ores
3.6% in Titanium Ore
2.3 in Aluminum Ore
0.62% in other minerals (Niobium,Tantalum, Vanadium, and Zirconium One)
8.2% in Diamonds