Conflict Diamonds?

I’m not going to lie. I get caught up in the superficiality of California, especially southern California. I look at and subscribe to fashion magazines, save my money to buy a new pair of way too expensive shoes, and yes, I am that pathetic girl who stands and drools over the obscenely huge diamonds displayed in Cartier’s windows at South Coast Plaza. I won’t deny any of that. Still, at the same time I realize that there is a world outside of California, outside of everything superficial. And I now know that there is more to diamonds than just their exterior beauty; they can come from blood…….

My dad asked me the other day if I was going to make sure the first diamond I purchase for my self is conflict free. I had no idea what he was talking about. Apparently I was not the only one who was clueless as to what a conflict diamond was, let alone a conflict free one. My dad suggested that since I love diamonds so much, I should go see the film Blood Diamonds and that seeing the movie would drastically change how I look at the precious stone. So I did. And he was right.

It was the scene where the boy looked right at his father, pointed a gun and was ready to shoot him. His eyes were vapid, void of recognition for his father, for his life before he learned how to kill babies, mothers and his own people. That was the scene that tore my heart out almost more than any other in the movie. That is what happens. That is reality. That is what conflict diamonds fuel. This is such a major and incredibly important issue, one that needs all the attention it can get....Especially in the United States, the world’s largest diamond importing country.

So to clarify, what are conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds? Conflict Diamonds: “Conflict diamonds are diamonds illegally traded to fund conflict in war-torn areas, particularly in central and western Africa.” (diamondfacts.org) But that’s just the surface of the definition.

To have the means to buy diamonds in this country or anywhere, and not know where it came from or not to care, or to sell diamonds in that manner is coldly cruel and shows blatant disregard for the lives of others.