The diamond industry is one with roots in exploitation, apartheid and war. Owen English investigates the dirtier facets of diamonds.

The diamond industry has traditionally been dominated by De Beers, a company whose control and market share have lessened in recent years but is still the world's largest diamond mining company. The sale of diamonds has been used to finance armed groups across Africa fuelling a series of wars in which over 4 million people have been killed[1] and many more displaced, raped or brutalised. It is no surprise that diamonds produced in this way have earned the moniker of 'conflict' or 'blood' diamonds.

Historically, De Beers, with its massive control over the world's diamond distribution channels, did little or nothing to stop the flow of these blood diamonds. It was only in recent years with increasing awareness and pressure threatening to taint diamonds' image that diamond-producing countries came up with a scheme, the Kimberly Process, meant to stop conflict diamonds getting into the supply chain. Unfortunately, the scheme is far from watertight; it does not require independent inspection and, according to Amnesty International, is "open to abuse"[2]. It is worth noting that the Kimberly Process definition of a conflict diamond is one which is used to finance 'rebel groups', neatly ignoring abuses by governments in diamond mining. Meanwhile the diamond industry is able to portray itself as squeaky-clean and brush the problem under the carpet.

Workers in the diamond industry are also exploited. Most of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in India[3] often by child workers in terrible conditions for low pay ($15 - $20 a week, if they're lucky[4]). Child workers sometimes even work in bondage, almost as slaves, to pay off debts[5]. Over half of these child cutters are suffering from preventable work-related ailments such as kidney dysfunction, lung disease, stomach problems, wheezing, pains in their joints and eyesores[6].

Many African diamond miners live in company-owned homes and compounds, and there are reports of companies, De Beers in particular, making use of this to exert control over their workers' personal lives. For example, by refusing to let black workers live with their families (a restriction not applied to white and coloured employees in a mine where "the administration is all white"[7]). This suggests that apartheid is still alive and well in Africa. In another case, miners striking in Botswana (after complaining of large gaps between managers' wages and their own) were not only sacked but forcibly evicted from their company-owned homes[8].

The diamond industry also leads to environmental ruin. In areas where diamonds have been spread over a large area by rivers and erosion, groups of garimpeiros (freelance miners) dig the earth, washing and sifting for diamonds sometimes for months at a time without success. Some have even been buried alive while digging[9].
Non-artisanal diamond mining tends to use open-pit mining techniques, which disturb huge areas of land and their eco-systems, causing pollution of groundwater, erosion and other problems[10]. These problems are particularly bad in countries where there is little or no environmental regulation. Mining and digging for diamonds has devastated huge areas of land in Sierra Leone and Angola, turning previously fertile farmland into crater-filled landscapes, providing breeding grounds for mosquitos and exposing the population to increased risk of malaria and water-borne diseases[11].

Survival International, the NGO that supports tribal people worldwide, have many case studies of indigenous lands seized for mining purposes. For example, in Botswana thousands of Central Kalahari Bushmen have been forcibly evicted from their communities in preparation for a planned diamond mine which could affect over 5000 square kilometres of land[12] - an issue which has even led to several of De Beers' supermodel figureheads quitting in protest[13].

Then there's the soothing, manipulating voice of the media to wash over your worries. It was through De Beers' massive advertising and PR campaign in the 40s that the association between diamonds and romance became widespread (the “Diamonds are Forever” campaign). Having established monopoly control over the supply (and therefore price) of diamonds, De Beers sought to keep demand high by "altering social attitudes" - with remarkable success[14].

References
[1] Conflict-Free Diamond Council, www.conflictfreediamonds.org/awareness/civil_war_deaths.html viewed 22/09/06
[2] 'Kimberly Process', Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kimberley_Process&oldid;=69644352 viewed 22/09/06
[3] '11 out of 12 diamonds are polished in India', diamond industry PR website, www.diamondfacts.org/facts/fact_08.html viewed 22/09/06
[4] P50, Janine Roberts , (2003), Glitter and Greed, The Disinformation Company: New York
[5] P51, Glitter and Greed
[6] 'Child Slave Labor in India's Diamond Industry', Meghan Hoppe http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=61 viewed 22/09/06
[7] P35, Glitter and Greed
[8] afrol News, 31/08/04 www.afrol.com/articles/13836 viewed 22/09/06
[9] John Reed, LA Times 28/06/04 www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11389 viewed 22/09/06
[10] Diamond Trade report, David Bew, Trade and Environment Database www.american.edu/TED/diamond.htm viewed 22/09/06
[11] Sierra Leone mining report, Sarah Sipkins, Trade and Environment Database www.american.edu/TED/leone.htm viewed 22/09/06
[12] Survival International 24/02/06 www.survival-international.org/news.php?id=1401 viewed 22/09/06
[13] Edward Simpkins, Sunday Telegraph(Canada) 20/07/05 www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press685.htm viewed 22/09/06
[14] 'The Diamond Mind', Edward Jay Epstein www.edwardjayepstein.com/diamond/chap13.htm viewed 22/09/06