Though diamonds are beautiful, they, aside from a few industrial uses, have no particular economic value aside from what we ascribe to them. It is therefore amazing that an entire ecosystem rose on the discovery of diamonds in Africa in the 1800s, and that these discoveries would make some men extremely rich, while impoverishing the local inhabitants and causing strife and war.
Diamonds were discovered in the 1930s in Sierra Leone, a country founded by the British to act as a home for freed slaves, and at the time still a British colony. International concerns like De Beers, the company responsible for the slogan "Diamonds are forever," entered the market. Exploitation of diamond mines were hard, however, for there were no roads and no effective way to provide security. Warlords and rebel groups stepped into the void, and began exploiting their own mines using slave labors. The diamonds were sold through middlemen, and weapons were bought with the proceeds, furthering war and instability as various groups fought each other and outside forces for control of the diamond mines.
The conflict has lead to mass casualties, including rape, slavery, amputations, and people being shot. Diamonds traded this way were revealed to have financed Al Qaeda and the 9/11 terrorists attack on the United States, and soon became referred to as blood diamonds for the violence inflicted on those who mined them and lived in the area. Despite promises to clean up their act and to provide transparency on the provenance of their diamonds, large companies continue to exploit a resource that is portable and easily hidden, that can be smuggled and laundered to show a different provenance. Until diamonds lose their attraction in the United States and elsewhere as an expression of love, people will continue to be hurt and die during their exploitation.
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