Blood Diamond

Last night PO and our dear friends travelled over the lovely Danberry Dollar Theater on the west side. The viewing experience is definitely sub-par, but if you can get over the lack of 'stadium seating', the ripped fabric on the seats and the sticky floor, you will be thrilled to be spending only $3 to view a film on the big screen. I love going to the Danberry - because I love a good bargain. The movies are not new releases - they are the ones in that weird phase between being shown in the fancy theaters and coming out on DVD. But that is usually the time frame in which I realize I want to see a movie, so its perfect timing for me.

We saw Blood Diamond - a very violent movie about "conflict" diamonds in Sierra Leone in the early 90's. Although a little boring in the middle, it was disturbing. I didn't have a lot to say about it on the way home, but I have been thinking more today. Even though the conflict portrayed in the movie is relatively over, I found on the movie's website that even now, up to $23 million of conflict diamonds are entering the legitimate diamond trade annually from the Ivory Coast in Africa. This makes me sick. I immediately wondered where my own diamond sitting here on my left ring finger is from.

I knew Paul found it at the Shane Company - a chain of jewelry stores in the mid-west. He told me that in his quest to find my engagement ring that this was the only store (out of the 13 he went to) that helped him pick out the design and setting of the ring first, rather than pick out the diamond itself, I find that funny since you're planning on wearing the thing your whole life - I care a bit what it looks like. I got on their website and found only two statements regarding the origin of their diamonds:

"We are direct diamond importers. We purchase our diamonds and other precious stones in Antwerp, Tel Aviv, Bangkok and Bombay. In other words, you pay no middleman markup. We are direct diamond importers.

"We support all sanctions on countries that sell diamonds to fund civil wars. We will not do business with any person or company who does not share this commitment. "

Seems like a pretty lame statement - not super convincing - just a necessary disclaimer to ease your conscience. They didn't mention purchasing from Africa, which makes me wonder what, if any, shady things are happening in those countries. Nonetheless, I breathed a sigh of relief that (hopefully) its not from Africa.

I like my ring and all, Paul picked a design that is very me, I am just not so sure I even want to wear a diamond. It has too much baggage. The tradition is not particularly special to me, and its just a sparkley clear rock - that EVERYONE has. What if mine is a conflict diamond? Creepy. I would not want it on my finger symbolizing my marriage. But not only are there conflict diamonds, but the whole industry seems to be very sketchy.

Apparently before the movie's release, Nelson Mandela became a spokesperson for DeBeers, a ba-jillion dollar diamond company. He was encouraging boycotts NOT to happen as a result of the film. It seems he was selling out to the industry, but he is supposedly trying to support this lucrative industy and its benefits to the continent - despite the unfortunate condition its in. I found this regarding his actions:

Even way back in the 1990s, Nelson Mandela was already a staunch supporter of the legal diamond industry. He recognized the importance of this industry to the African economy and he was not shy to point that out. He has been quoted many times as saying “Rather than boycotts being instituted, it is preferable that through our own initiative the industry takes a progressive stance on human rights issues.” That is why he was a key player in the Kimberly Process.Just because Nelson Mandela is acting as a spokesperson doesn’t mean that he is selling out. Supposedly, he will be asserting that blood diamonds no longer exist, or at least are no longer in circulation. In effect, he will be showing his full support to the existing – legal – diamond industry. Another key point: he is not receiving any money for his services. Of course, there are many things that we, the public, may not know. Though the legitimate diamond industry does contribute a lot to the African economy, we also know that in this present day and age, there could still be blood diamond mining going on.

Very interesting. I hope that this movie raises awareness on this issue. People should do their homework before buying a fancy-schmancy diamond. I hadn't thought about the fact that not buying diamonds could hurt Africa. I didn't know about all this until a couple years ago. I know Paul probably wasn't aware when he bought the ring... It also makes me think more about the other products we stuff-crazed Americans are buying - and who was hurt in the process of their production. . . . We need to be a better informed consumers.

* the pic above is a DeBeers diamond. Their website is quite informative about their diamond policy