I read the rest of Greg Campbell’s article Blood Diamond on Amnesty USA’s Website, and I became sickened as well as outraged. In 1991, Sierra Leone’s RUF (Revolutionary United Front) started it’s slaughter and torture of the African people in the name of diamonds. In order to gain control of the diamond mines in Sierra Leone, “the RUF have carried out one of the most brutal military campaigns in recent history, to enrich themselves as well as the genteel captains of the diamond industry living far removed from the killing fields” (Greg Campbell, http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/diamonds.html).
In 1996, Sierra Leone’s President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, begged for everyone to “join hands for peace.” To mock this, and to show and maintain their control over the diamond mines, the rebels decided that amputation would be their choice of mutilation and torment. Over 20,00 people including women, children and even babies, had their arms, legs, ears, lips, and legs sliced off while about 50,000 to 75,000 were murdered.
When I think about how I walked around oblivious to this sobering fact, it makes me utterly sick. Educating people about this issue is enormously important. And we must learn about it with blinders and sensors off. This is an issue where every gruesome, heart wrenching and horrific detail needs to be told. Filtering out the “bad news” about this issue only lessons and insults the severity of the ramifications of conflict diamonds.
Recource: (Greg Campbell, http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/diamonds.html).
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2 comments:
I never realized there was so much going on for diamonds
I think you chose a great topic to talk about. There is a lot of information that people do not know regarding this topic. I personally knew absolutely zero about it before reading your blog. I think you are giving great info. Reading about the murders and the amputations are so shocking. Its such a sick joke, just to mock "joining hands in peace." It's disgusting.
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