Home > "Blood Diamonds": Movie is "gripping, accurate," says World Vision expert

"Blood Diamonds": They're For Real

Movie "Gripping, Accurate," World Vision Expert Says

December 7, 2006

NOTE: “Blood Diamond” has been rated “R” by the Motion Picture Association of America for “Strong Violence and Language.” Viewers under 17 require accompanying parent or adult guardian. World Vision does not necessarily endorse or recommend this film; view with discretion.

Fourteen-year-old Adaman Kamara lost both her hands to rebels during Sierra Leone's civil war, which was funded, in part, by conflict diamonds in the 1990s. Although that war is over, diamonds continue to fund conflicts in Africa; the diamond industry and governments must do more to protect the legitimate diamond trade.

Edward Zwick's new film, "Blood Diamond," is "gripping, compelling and accurate," according to Rory Anderson, World Vision’s senior policy advisor for Africa.

Anderson, an expert on the illegal diamond trade, also said that though Sierra Leone’s war is over, diamonds continue to fund conflicts in Africa and that the diamond industry and governments must do more to protect the legitimate diamond trade.

A Relevant Film

"Blood Diamond" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, and Jennifer Connelly. It is a fictional story about a Zimbabwean smuggler, an American journalist, and a Sierra Leonean fisherman whose lives collide against the backdrop of Sierra Leone’s diamond-funded civil war in the late 1990s, a war that officially ended in 2002.

"The film's relevance goes beyond the individual situation of Sierra Leone," said Anderson. "It illustrates the incredible devastation the illegal diamond trade has caused — and continues to cause — elsewhere across Africa.”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, approximately 1,000 people die every day as a result of an eight-year conflict that is fueled, in part, by diamond smuggling and related weapons trafficking.

Boycotting Diamonds "Isn't the Answer"

"More than 60 percent of the diamonds on the global market are purchased in the United States," said Anderson. "As a result, Americans can play a powerful role, demanding regulation and certification to ensure that these ‘conflict diamonds’ don’t end up in our jewelry stores."

According to a 2004 survey conducted by Amnesty International and Global Witness, 59 percent of American diamond retailers were unwilling to even discuss their conflict diamonds policies; 11 percent admitted they had no policy at all.

Anderson maintained, though, that boycotting diamonds isn't the answer.

Legitimate Trade Helps Many

"Legitimately traded diamonds, particularly in countries like South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, are being used to fund health care, education, and other vital services," Anderson added. "We can't punish countries using diamonds to help their people for the crimes committed by rebel groups and others exploiting resources elsewhere."

Before buying diamonds, Anderson concluded, consumers should ask retailers for their policies on conflict diamonds and for certification that their diamonds were mined and sold legitimately.

Learn More

>>Read about conflict diamonds and World Vision's efforts to abolish this heinous practice.

>>Watch a short video on conflict diamonds.

Get Involved

>>Ask jewelers about their policies on conflict diamonds and ask for clarification about whether their diamonds are mined and sold legitimately.

>>Pray that the diamond industry and governments do more to protect the legitimate diamond trade and bring to a halt the horrific practice of conflict diamonds.

>>Contact Congress. Ask our U.S. government leaders to better enforce the diamond trade law so that conflict diamonds do not continue to fund wars in African countries, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

1-888-511-6548 : P.O. Box 9716
Federal Way, WA 98063-9716

Learn More

Read about conflict diamonds and World Vision's efforts to abolish this heinous practice.
--
Watch a short video on conflict diamonds.

Get Involved

Ask jewelers about their policies on conflict diamonds and ask for clarification about whether their diamonds are mined and sold legitimately.
--
Pray that the diamond industry and governments do more to protect the legitimate diamond trade and bring to a halt the horrific practice of conflict diamonds."
--
Contact Congress. Ask our U.S. government leaders to better enforce the diamond trade law so that conflict diamonds do not continue to fund wars in African countries, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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