Sierra Leone and the Blood Diamonds
A look at Sierra Leone, its political corruption, the Revolutionary United Front and the infamous blood diamonds.
Political corruption is a rampant problem in Sierra Leone. It has been an ongoing issue that still needs to be dealt with to this day. In 1991, civil war erupted in Sierra Leone because of the blood diamond industry and the power struggle that ensued between the government and the ruthless rebel groups, the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.).
Over 50, 000 civilians died and half the populations were displaced. The political decisions were influenced due to the geographical factors such as the mass amount of diamonds in Sierra Leone and it being a relatively poor country. The government in an attempt to minimize the power of f the rebels invited them to join the government. This did not end the violence nor stop the brutality. The diamond trade was too valuable.
The money that was generated by the diamond trade didn’t benefit the country, but rather a small group of people. With the use of violence the R.U.F. successfully took over the diamond industry and wielded considerable power. With the money profited by these blood diamonds (called blood diamonds because of all the blood shed and the violence in Africa) they used the profits to purchase weapons and supplies and cement their power. The rebels inflicted pain and fear in the general population of Sierra Leone. Innocent citizens were killed, raped and young boys were brainwashed into becoming young soldiers.
The sovereignty in Sierra Leone prevented countries to intervene with their crisis. The government was corrupt and countries understood that help was not wanted and would not be permitted in the country. Any money given to the country from other nations would be taken and used to fund the political leaders and R.U.F. The United Nation did not enter the conflict in Sierra Leone until June 2001. The international community ignored and turned a blind eye to the suffering of the ordinary civilians of Sierra Leone .Human rights were violated daily, terror and fear became common place occurrences.
After ten years of conflict, the citizens received international help but the damage had been done. Thousands of people were killed and most of the infrastructure of the country was destroyed. The failure of the international community to respond to this crisis reminds us of the tragedy in Rwanda. In 1994, Rwandans were massacred by the Janjaweed for being Tutsi (a group of people that are black but have European features. The Belgians dubbed the Tutsi). The United Nations intervened too late and as in Sierra Leone the failure to act immediately allowed the atrocities to continue. Over half a million Rwandans died.
There was no political will to change the status quo because many people benefited from the illegal trade of diamonds. Millions of dollars were generated but only a handful of people benefited.
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User Comments
ddeerrkkjj456
On June 2, 2008 at 8:09 am
wow!
Bud Boland
On September 27, 2008 at 5:11 pm
The way you write this it sounds like the conflict is still raging. The last time I checked the civil war came to an end in 2002… are you in a time warp? Diamonds are a vital part of bring Africa into the modern world. It is stories like this that make people feel uneasy about buying diamonds thereby hurting struggling countries in Africa that are in need of people around the world to continue purchasing diamonds.
Blood Diamonds
Missy
On December 5, 2008 at 10:00 am
This is a reply to Bud Boland…
Are you crazy like seriously,, buying blood diamonds are a really bad idea because the people that are in need of those diamond purchase profits never get it because the R.U.F would get it before the actual people that needed would. From what i have learned from the world, nobody cares about how they get what they want as long as they do… Buying those blood diamonds would support the atrocities to people to contiune instead of helping man kind and stopping the terror of millions. You are so obviously a very greedy person (like most in this world) that only care about getting the diamonds by not caring how. Even if this civil war is over, there’s never going to be peace anywhere so if we never learn know, we never will. You might not be and i could be competely wrong but that whole, ‘people around the world to continue purchasing diamonds.’ that is so very very wrong to suggest that it’s okay to purchase blood diamonds to try and help the people, but if you do proper research, those sales never have or will reach the people that need it.
Ilori Michael Akinropo
On February 27, 2009 at 9:46 am
I think the author is true with the history of the Sierra Leone diamond bloods. Well concerning the late intervention of the Internation Agencies such as the United Nation Africa Union, I think some of them have their interest in the diamond blood money that is the reason why the left the duty on done whereby allowing greedy politician to be destroying live and properties of the inocent citizen of the Sierra Leone so they know that the money they generated through their bloody diamond money they will be using it to sponsored the rebel thereby killing innocent citizen so the UN people some of them have skeleton in their respective cupboard at that time.
For example let look at what is happen in Nigeria, Nigerian are shouting of all these Niger/Delta Millitant whereby these boys are vandalizing pipe oil destroying life and properties of people kidnapping innocent Nigerian. And most of these boys have gods father that are sponsoring them they are using these boys to acquired their illegal wealth and these are the work of these corrupt politician because they know that the only way they can create an illegal wealth they want to drive ten fancy cars at a time I wonder if they can live in two rooms at a time. So most African thinking capability is too low.
So Africa region which suppose to have been the world best human and natural resources place are now the poorest continent whereby 75 percent of her people are suffering from poverty they are leaving below expectation they are the poorest being on earth.
So African should try to love one another they used live in unity.
MirandaaaaB.
On June 5, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Dont buy blood diamonds.
MIRANDAAAB RESPONSE
On July 1, 2009 at 2:20 am
Why not?
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