Blood Diamond (2006)

Solomon Vandy, enslaved by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to work in a diamond field in Sierra Leone. [From the movie Blood Diamond]

Edward Zwick, the director of the movie, said:

What would happen if the industry decided to dedicate a portion of every single African diamond sale – to the rebuilding of infrastructure and the creation of sustainable development? The Red Campaign is doing it with Gap t-shirts and jeans, American Express is using credit cards, what’s to stop the branding of West African diamonds.

– Edward Zwick, Director, Blood Diamond at the Rapaport International Diamond Conference, New York, Feb. 5, 2007

For the full speech: http://blooddiamond.pacweb.org/thinkingaboutdiamonds/

A recommended watch, the movie Blood Diamond touches several topics; from the exploitation of African resources, to the abuse of child soldiers, to the civil war in Sierra Leone. The title of the movie refers to diamonds mined in war zones, a.k.a. conflict diamonds, often if not always used to finance the war.

More about the movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Diamond_%28film%29

Did you know that nearly 60% of Sierra Leoneans are Muslim? 

Also another interesting point…

Of 10 governments worldwide implicated in the recruitment or use of children as soldiers, nine receive US military assistance.

– Human Rights Watch
(http://hrw.org/campaigns/crp/child_soldiers/index.htm)