Do You Know Where Your Diamond Ring Came From?

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend" is a statement that holds a very different meaning once you have watched the recent special, "Blood Diamonds" on the History International Channel.

Undoubtedly, human greed has often played a large role in the decline and degradation of human society. Human greed led to slavery; human greed led to a black market for drugs; and human greed has led to some of the most atrocious war crimes ever to be developed.

Civilians in Central and Western Africa - areas like Sierra Leone, The Congo, and Angola - were subjected to torture, mutilation, and endless civil war. All over a precious stone known as the diamond.

Diamonds at one time were extremely rare, reserved only for members of royalty. No one knew where they came from or how to find more; so when one was found, it was extremely valuable.

That could have changed in the 1800s when two brothers discovered a diamond mine on their farm in Kimberlite, South Africa. Shortly thereafter, business men, prospectors, and entrepreneurs began to flock to the site to set up their own mining in history's largest diamond rush to date. One man, by the name of Cecil Rhodes, came to realize that by allowing so many separate companies and prospectors to stake their claims, the value of the diamond would dive.

He then began to buy other miners out of their claims, creating a monopoly. He then regulated the flow and release of diamonds, keeping their value and rarity up much higher than is actual. His monopoly was named after the brothers on whose land the first mine was found, The DeBeers Brothers.

Sadly, that is not the worst news of this story. During the 1960s, diamond mines were discovered in Sierra Leonne and other provinces throughout Western and Central Africa. Yet, despite the riches and promises the discovery of these mines brought to other countries, in Sierra Leonne, Liberia, The Congo, and Angola, these mines brought death, war, and endless destruction. As the governments collapsed under infancy, rebel groups declared a Civil War that raged through the 1990s. Diamond mines were taken over by these rebellion groups, and the diamonds were smuggled and sold to fund their wars.

Consumers in the United States, responsible for the majority of diamond sales around the world, have no idea where their diamonds come from. Kay Jewelers, DeBeers, Zales.... beyond the name of the store they have no idea where their engagement rings and necklaces originated from. After all, diamonds don't come with a tag advertising whether or not they came from a Conflict Zone.

These rebellion Groups, such as a RUF, claimed to be fighting for democracy. However, they committed just about every war crime in the book, and even made up one of their own: intentional mutilation of noncombatant civilians. Their purpose was to drive away the areas population from the diamond mines so they could take over; they then brought in abducted slaves and started forced worker camps to mine for the stones and fund their war. They bought weapons, helicopters, and exploited the resources while keeping the diamond mines out of the hands of the government.

The UN and other nations did little to help. At some point, the UN declared that diamonds bought from Sierra Leonne could only be bought from the government, and they must be accompanied by a government certificate. But this was not enforced and nothing was done to ensure its implementation.

Sierre Leonne, originally founded on the principles of independence and freedom, soon became a forefront to war and oppression; and the world turned its back on the people of this country for a few precious stones.

"Blood Diamonds" details some of the most atrocious examples of human greed to date. It's not hard to find and interested buyer of diamonds in todays world. And sadly, the peoples of West and Central Africa paid life and limb, literally, for their discoveries. Available for sale on DVD from The History Channel, "