Angola, sierra leone, and liberia, which were significant locations for conflict diamonds. May, 2008 set in sierra leone in 1999 in the midst of a civil war, blood diamond draws attention to the responsibility of citizens and businesses in the developed world to ensure that the diamonds they buy have not been used to fund conflicts abroad. When i first read about sierra leone, i was shocked. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002. Campbells book is primarily set in sierra leone and traces the history of diamond mining and its link with the civil war that ravaged sierra leone for over a decade. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 al j venter. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 history of terror. This lesson addresses the civil war in sierra leone to illustrate the.
Pdf a critical reading of blood diamond 2006 in the. As we drove along i found myself fascinated with the deep oooooohhs and aaaahhhhss that made up her conversational speech patterns. Diamonds have financed bloody civil wars in which child. Set during the sierra leone civil war in 1999, the film shows a country torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebel forces. These children soldiers resided in countries such as. Diamond miners in sierra leone sifting through the sand in search of diamonds.
Leonardo, diamonds and child soldiers part i the globalist. This paper critically analyzes the related film blood diamond. They feature in films like blood diamond and a new novel by dave eggers. The sierra leone civil war 19912002 was a civil war in sierra leone that began on 23. Freetown the rebel revolutionary united front ruf of sierra leone is forcing children, including demobilized child soldiers, to join its ranks and engage in combat, human rights watch said. A million diamond diggers in africa earn less than a dollar a day. The movie blood diamonds starring leonardo di caprio is another tiein that may be used depending on the. Blessing and curse in sierra leone, a young diamond miner holds in his palm what he believes is a diamond at a mining pit near koidu. The sierra leone civil war 19912002 was a civil war in sierra leone that began on 23 march 1991 when the revolutionary united front ruf, with support from the special forces of charles taylors national patriotic front of liberia npfl, intervened in sierra leone in an attempt to overthrow the joseph momoh government.
Founded by foday sankoh and charles taylor, used diamonds to buy guns and get money for their army. Executive outcomes south african mercenary group hired by the sierra leone government in exchange for services. See story prosecuting child soldiers for their own safety. This lesson will be part of a larger unit on africa using the civil war in sierra leone to illustrate the problem of children forced to be soldiers and the use of diamonds to finance the. Sierra leone rebels forcefully recruit child soldiers human. Military patrimonialism and child soldier clientalism in the. Many of the worlds diamonds are mined using practices that exploit workers, children, and communities. First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of sierra leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. Child soldiers in sierra leone 1488 words bartleby. The trade in blood diamonds was the focal point of the trial, which demonstrated how natural resource exploitation can serve to fund armed conflict and lead to the abuse of human rights.
What have recent books and movies taught the world about the tragic fate. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 history of terror venter, al j on. After young solomon house is burned to the ground, after being kidnapped and seperated from his family, forced to become a murder machine child soldier by the ruf revolutionary united front young solomon force to work in the diamond mines, after. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 al j venter sierra leones elevenyear guerrilla war that left 200,000 people dead was brief, bloody and mindlessly brutal. That diamond changed and ended many lives, and the story of that stone carries a strong social message. One of its objectives was to drive away much of sierra leone s population from the diamond fields. Through dedicated scholarship and longterm residence in sierra leone, richards conducted interviews with child soldiers, excombatants, youth, diamond traders, ruf members, government forces. Child soldiers were heavily recruited in the sierra leone civil war. Sierra leones war over conflict diamonds began in march 1991 when a few hundred men crossed over the liberian border and attacked towns in eastern and southern sierra leone. May 25, 2015 50,000 dead in sierra leone war fueled by blood diamonds. The only way that the blood will finally be washed away from conflict diamonds is if there is a true fairtradecertification process that allows conscientious consumers to buy congos artisanal. How the diamond trade is enslaving millions of africans.
Diamonds were smuggled from sierra leone to his country of liberia and those diamond profits were used in exchange for materials and services to support the war. The remix version of grammywinning song diamonds from sierra leone performed by american artist kanye west, has verses that detail the blood diamond trade in sierra leone, and comments about the western public unawareness of the origins of the diamonds linked to the conflict. The book blood diamonds written by greg campbell is a great book that really opens up your eyes to see what has been happening in sierra leone in the 90s and 2000s. Revolutionary united front ruf was a rebel army that fought a failed elevenyear war in sierra leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 by al j. In particular, sierra leone, a small country on the west coast of africa famous for ebola and blood diamonds. In the movie blood diamond, the characters choices and actions are limited by outside events such as the diamond trade, the fight for independence, the corruption of the government in sierra leone, the decisions of the united nations, and the complexities of international politics. Jason cowley on african child soldiers books the guardian. Young children were involved in the world war 1 and the united states war branded the boys war. Both men are african, but their histories as different as any can be, until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that. The impact would ultimately be felt by millions, thousands of miles away from the scene of the conflict. Profits from the diamond mines supported by child soldiers, child laborers, and adult slaves finance armed wars and conflicts. Sierra leone blood diamond rebels found guilty of war.
Venter is a specialist military writer and has had 50 books published. Today, about 2,000 are still left serving in the military of sierra leone. Mar 12, 2007 like other child soldiers, both dia and beah went through a process of indoctrination that involved the sustained use of drugs, which subsequently made it difficult for them to give up their lives as child soldiers. Between 1992 and 1999, sierra leone was engaged in a civil war which was blamed primarily on a scramble for diamonds. In class, we have viewed two films representing the problems with child soldiers in sierra leone which include films titled blood diamond and ezra. Five popular plays by iyunolu folayan osagie war and embodied memory. Blood diamonds and prosecuting child soldiers for war. Awardwinning journalist greg campbell traces the deadly trail of these. After being traumatised by a civil war in their own country. Diamond mining in africa child labor conflict diamonds. What is the history behind blood diamonds sierra leone. Child soldiers in the civil wars in liberia and sierra leone, which began respectively in.
The movie blood diamond was released in 2006 and featured leonardo di caprio as an arms smuggler whose main goal is to obtain a seemingly priceless diamond from a villager during the civil war in sierra leone. Child soldiers in sierra leone refers to the roughly 10,00014,000 children who fought between 1991 and 2002 in the sierra leone civil war. After being forced to join, many child soldiers learned that the complete lack of. In some countries, governments participating in the african civil war also used children to defend their purpose. It later developed into a political party, which still exists today. Most were used for attacks on villages and on guard duty at diamond fields as well as guarding weapons stockpiles. Antwerp belgium, liberian diamond exports between 1990 and 1999 were. Us national arrested on sierra leone blood diamond charges. Sierra leone s child soldiers were recruited by private security companies to fight in iraq. Rebel group in sierra leone trying to overthrow the existing democratic government in the 1990s. In her book, childhood deployed, susan shepler argues the concept of youth in sierra leone is distinct from idealized western. Fittingly diamonds are made of pure carbon, and diamonds are the hardest natural substance known to man. Civil war in sierra leone and the role of blood diamonds. At brilliant earth, we believe it is important to end all violence related to diamond mining, regardless of the circumstances.
Venezuelan smuggling opens door to blood diamond trade sierra leone s blood diamonds and the kimberley process. Ishmael beah was a child soldier during the sierra leonean civil war. Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990s sierra leone, blood diamond is the story of danny archer an ex mercenary from zimbabwe and solomon vandy a mende fisherman. Nearly half of the revolutionary united front ruf, and a quarter of the governmental armed forces consisted of children aged 814 years old. The movie blood diamond traces the path of a large pink diamond found in sierra leone in the 1990s by a fisherman working as a slave in a rebelcontrolled diamond mine. Best on sierra leone 14 books goodreads share book. The price of liberty by paul conton theater in sierra leone. Blood diamonds child soldiers blood diamonds child. Richards dedicated this book to critiquing the new barbarism thesis espoused by the likes of kaplan. It is funded by contributions from readers like you.
An analysis of the movie, blood diamond essay 1197 words 5 pages. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. In the book, beah, now a 26yearold living in the united states, describes how he was recruited into the government of sierra leone s army at the age of, after his village was burned by rebel forces and his family killed. The ruf was a highly barbaric, taking villages by heavy artillery to gather men for sifting through infested lakes, rivers and digging to find diamonds. Development through disease in sierra leone a quadrant book adia benton. It also shows that sierra leone still makes slow progress, in 2016, in such different aspects as, for example, education, health, and human rights, since 1990, which is also the year that conflicts took place in sierra leone. The presence of diamonds in sierra leone invited and led to the civil war in. The druggedup child soldiers at the centre of sierra. Miners are dying in accidents, child labor is widespread, and corrupt leaders are depriving diamond mining communities of funds badly needed for economic development. Cynthia was originally from sierra leone, and i loved the way those two dusky words rolled off her tongue. The use of children in sierra leones conflict was not an anomaly. Maddy bowen jennifer connelly, an american journalist and adrenalin junkie who has covered wars in bosnia and afghanistan, wants to do a story about conflict stones or blood diamonds sierra leone gems smuggled into liberia and then sold around the west by reputable firms. Blood diamonds and sierra leone flashcards quizlet. May 01, 2007 the child soldier, of sierra leone, who witnessed and committed war atrocities talks about his new book.
Sierra leone was in the grips of a bloody civil war from 1991 until 2002. These wars involve inhumane practices such as rape, torture, and slavery involving children. The name diamond comes from the greek word, adamas meaning unconquerable. These blood diamonds are smuggled out of west africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in london, antwerp, and new york, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry.
This is a movie i made for a project from school its about childsoldiers i wanna show the ppl how horrible they live. In certain ways the movie weve made is very conventional, an action drama about three. Feb 25, 2009 sierra leone blood diamond rebels found guilty of war crimes three senior sierra leone rebel leaders notorious for ordering their troops to chop off opponents hands were convicted on wednesday. Blood diamonds really shone light onto the issue bringing more awareness to it, just like the move did aswell. Sierra leone, in particular, has struck an interest because of the many films and readings that try to depict this story of the civil war. Feb 21, 2019 online shopping for sierra leone from a great selection at books store. The engagement of children as soldiers has been determined to be a global problem which started from a fore. Civil war in sierra leone and the role of blood diamonds the civil war in sierra leone has been one of the most grotesque ones in history, and the nations rich diamond reserves have driven much of the violence.
Id read books about the colonial scramble for africa, about the exploitation of its ivory, rubber and gold, but to learn the history of diamonds was to learn the story of africa all over again. The story of the child soldiers in sierra leone who were drugged with cocaine to make them fight in a war fuelled by blood diamonds, and the child victims of mutilations. It shows that it is a huge consequence of blood diamonds that it brought into sierra leone. The film portrays many of the atrocities of that war, including the rebels amputation of peoples hands to stop them from voting in upcoming elections. Shooting became just like drinking a glass of water. The three most senior surviving leaders, issa sesay, morris kallon and augustine gbao, were convicted in february 2009 of war crimes.
In the book he describes the experiences of the eight women who were. The diamond industrys attempt to fight blood diamonds led to the establishment of the kimberley process, an international diamond certification scheme, in 2003. Memoir from sierra leone africa civil war realistic fiction historical fiction world literature violence in this story ishmael beah, author of radiance of tomorrow and a long way gone, is interviewed about his experience as a child soldier in sierra leone. For instance, campbell in the book was able to successfully link the relationship between the blood diamonds in sierra leone and the september 11 attacks in the united states as well as other nefarious activities of alqaeda.