Conflict Diamonds
The two songs you are going to listen to are by Kanye West, Diamonds from Sierra Leone, and Lupe Fiasco, Conflict Diamonds. Diamonds from Sierra Leone was released July 4, 2005 from Kanye West’s album Late Registration. While the remake of Kanye’s song, Conflict Diamonds by Fiasco, was released in late 2005. Both of these songs have verses from Diamonds are Forever by Shirley Bassey made famous from the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever. We noticed a great deal of repetition in the two songs. The obvious word, diamonds, was used 15 times between the two songs. The word forever/ever was used 45 times in Diamonds from Sierra Leone we believe this symbolizes the question of if this conflict on diamonds will ever end. We also noticed the two main themes in the song; the diamond conflict and Child Soldiers. “…Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs the diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charms…” The song is trying to educate people of where their diamonds come from and the true cost. It’s making a point that someone might be killing their own family and friends for the diamonds that we wear. The quote “…a little kid murdering his own family…” from Conflict Diamonds emphasizes the unfortunate role some children were forced into including slavery as a worker, soldier, and killer.
You will also watch a video of clips from the movie Blood Diamond. This film was released in 2006 starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. For those of you who have not seen the film, it takes place during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1996 – 1999. The movie takes you into the life of a man, Hounsou, who is captured by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels and forced to mine for diamonds that pay for the RUF’s war effort. While most of his family is taken to a camp, his son is taken to be trained to become one of the rebels. With help from DiCaprio and Connelly, Hounsou tries to get his family back together and flee to the United States.
The Sierra Leone Civil War began in 1991 by the RUF. Tens of thousands of people died and more than 2 million were displaced all over the country. A huge number of civilians sought refuge in neighboring countries. The war was officially declared over on January 18, 2002.
The two interviews you will watch are of Hounsou and Ishmael Beah. In Hounsou interview he talks about how “powerful the story is” and “how it deals with the conflict of the trade of diamonds and Child Soldiers.” In Beah interview he talks about his experience as a Child Soldier.
All of these materials are addressing the diamond trade in Africa and the issue of Child Soldiers. These artists are using their talents and fame as an advertisement to raise awareness of what is happening overseas. A diamond which may be seen as priceless (because it will outlast a lifetime) appears to have a price which is the cause of deaths in Africa.
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I think it is dishearteing to see what went on with the conflict of diamonds in Africa. I could not imagine anything worse than having a group of people just invade my town and kill and take everything including my family. I would not be able to go through what some of the people in Africa had to go through when this conflict went on. On top of that, the fact that children were trained to kill their own family and friends is absolutely horrible. I think it is sickening to know that people were unthinkingly supporting the rebel group indirectly by buying all the diamonds. I do not blame the people for buying them because how are they suppose to know. I am surprised more attention was not put on this subject while the conflict was going on. The group made a really good point about how diamonds can make us so happy, but that happiness means nothing when it is at the expense of tens of thousands of innocent people dying.
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ReplyDeleteI attended a Catholic high school so for my senior year religion class, Christian Service, a group of 3 students and I were in charge of performing a quarter long service project to help child work conditions. Our project was "Conflict Diamonds," as we collaborated together to create a school wide awareness project in response to the film Blood Diamonds. We hosted a movie night and had over 200 students sign a petition and write letters to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. We hoped that our project and letters would allow the US government would take a closer look into the diamond industry and bar the purchase of diamonds that originated from Sierra Leone. We never received a response from any government official. After listening to the songs and interviews by Hounsou and Ishmael Beah, I was reminded how much the general public doesn't know about the diamond conflict and how far we have to go until reform in the diamond purchasing system begins. Americans assume that just because they purchase their diamonds at Jared and Kay, they are purchasing diamonds from a quality, fair company. Although it's impossible for an everyday citizen to trace where their diamonds originate, it's difficult to think that Americans could be unconsciously funding such a horrible cause thousands of miles away. To fathom that a little boy was taken from his mother so a man could give his girlfriend an engagement ring is awful! If people found out they were wearing diamonds that children were killed over, there would be a lot of unhappy customers and the diamond industry would be under a huge investigation. It surprises me that no investigation has happened yet. After a similar movie was produced, Hotel Rwanda, it seemed that Americans began to take up interest in African problems and gave lots of support to Darfur. It’s just interesting to me how American society can support one civil war in Africa but completely neglect another.
ReplyDeleteI had heard a couple of presentations on conflict diamonds in the past, but it has never really been anything that I've ever been able to learn a whole lot about or even become passionate about. This is probably partly attributed to the fact that there isn't much media coverage on the issue, or at least not enough to inform the entire general American public. I don't think Americans would be okay with buying diamonds that weren't conflict-free if they actually knew the reality of the situation. The movie clips from Blood Diamonds and the interview Ishmael Beah really had an emotional effect on me. The thought that children are being stolen from their families and robbed of their childhood, given a gun and taught to kill so that some higher power can get rich is absolutely devastating to me! We in America can't even imagine what a life like that would be; the things we concern ourselves with are so incredibly minor in comparison! This is, without a doubt, a humanitarian effort we HAVE to address in America, because at the end of the day, we're fueling the problem.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I’m very strong headed on the topic about conflict diamonds-to me there is no such thing as a diamond that doesn’t come from conflict. It’s incredibly amazing to me that Americans can sit back and hear these things about child soldiers and do little to nothing about it. I even wrote my paper on this and suggest maybe things are the way that they are because there is no media coverage and it’s not right on our front door step. In our country there has never been a time where children were forced to pick up guns and begin a battle over an issue they knew nothing about. It breaks my heart that most children in Africa don’t get a chance at childhood because they’re forced to either become a part of the battle or they are forced to run from their countries. When I watched Kanye’s video I tried to use notice and focus to find the important details in the video and what I came up with was: first, the black and white theme… for me it portrayed a dismal and sad environment, second the appearance of children in dirty clothing…to show the children that are mining for the conflict diamonds, and lastly the appearance of the statue of Jesus Christ on the cross…which meant to me almost as if he represented hope for the children. Connecting this to the second music video that was shown I noticed that the same portion of the song “Diamonds are Forever” repeats in it. Also it repeated what the first video tried to show that it’s not about the conflict so much as it’s about the fact that people are so unaware of the conflict. This seems to repeat throughout all the clips that I watched. Awareness may be the factor that helps to put an end to conflict diamonds and child soldiers, if not it might help. I fully agree with Ishmael Beah when he says that being a child soldier robs that child of their childhood and psychologically and physically damages them. This issue may not seem like a big deal to everyone because it’s not happening in our everyday lives, but for the people of Sierra Leone it is. Something needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of conflict diamonds isn't a well covered topic in the media. That could be why most people dont really pay attention to the issue. Also, it is very indirect. People can't see the actual acts of violence they are supporting just because they are buying a diamond. There really isnt a way to see the history of how the diamond was acquired. Its really hard to imagine how simply buying a diamond in the United States can cause so much harm in Africa. The diamond money can support rebel groups that in turn kill others. I think the average person's view on buying diamonds would change if they could somehow trace its journey back to Africa. Diamonds are not a necessity so the conflict could've been stopped sooner had it been publicized more.
ReplyDeletePeople can bash Kanye West all they want; instead of being a typical mediocre rapper who brags about having diamond-encrusted grills, he brought attention to a widely ignored subject. It's disgusting how much us Americans treasure diamonds; whenever I see people in movies (or in person) flashing their large rocks, I wonder if anyone had died for it. Kanye points out things like this in several of his songs, the way Americans ignore the plethora of Africa's many problems. In this case, we actually support a problem of theirs by make diamonds such an investment. I find it extremely depressing that a country could have such low standards that children are actually exploited for profit in such a manner. I have also seen the film Blood Diamond and I think that it does a good job of explaining the situation over in Africa, overlooking the fact that it may have some Hollywood dramatization.
ReplyDeleteIt is terrible to see what people went through for something so terrible that really was un-noticed. I would be pissed for some group of strangers to just come around my neighborhood killing people and destroying much of what was already there. I could not stand by and watch something so terrible occur, especially when you realize how selfish the people who invaded are. It’s terrible to think of, but money really does rule the world and people everywhere will gladly kill to get their hands on it. Children should not be soldiers, it’s not right; they would never be able to grow up properly. Children are easily influenced; for a group of ‘horrible’ people to take advantage of this makes the situation so much worse. Diamonds are just status symbols for many people so im so glad when people are more conservative with their jewelry and don’t need to support something that could have come from a story as that in Africa. For every ring, necklace or any other piece of jewelry, I really wonder how much of that came from areas like this. Celebrities should not promote or gloat about their status symbols without knowing what they are truly representing. I have seen the movie Blood Diamond many times, it is a great film, and the movie does an excellent job of depicting the reality behind the plot, though it is representing an extremely dramatic situation.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty messed up how all this stuff is going on. I have to say that I've never seen the movie Blood Diamond, but after watching that trailer I'm gonna have to pick it up. This whole thing needs more media attention. I mean I'm not blind to what has gone over there. I know about it, but I don't know enough about it. The way those people steal away families and force them to work or fight and total unregard for human life is terrible. The best part in Kanye's video is when the guy proposes and puts the ring on his girl's finger and they look all happy and then blood begins to spill out over her hand. Relays the message pretty clearly. Commenting on Nancy's post, why should the US get involved? If we got involved over there people would throw a fit just like they do every time we get involved in another country. When we got involved in Somalia in the early 90s people were not happy about it and we were just trying to stop the militia from killing the people. I don't think that there is anything that we can do besides buy conflict-free diamonds. And stress to others that they need to do the same.
ReplyDeleteeverything about conflict diamonds in africa is an extremely sad situation that should be addressed. The movie does an excellent job of showing the harsh reality of the diamond trade and the songs also support what the movie shows. I agree with what a few have said about how its a problem that needs to be dealt with however i believe that it will be very hard to even approach such a tragedy. Just as many of the other things we buy from other countries, diamonds are found and sold at the cost of destroying a nations youth and the entire race. We havent done anything about other countries, at least nothing that has made a significant difference, so i think it will be a while before change are made in sierra leone. The movie is a step in the right direction and the fact that other celebrities like kanye and lupe fiasco are willing to speak against blood diamonds will also help but i just think there are too many people that feel diamonds are too important so they will simply look past the horrors in other countries because more than likely it will never personally effect them.
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ReplyDeleteI feel like this whole situation is overlooked by the media because the issue is rarely addressed. It is an awful thing to not only have child soldiers mining and fighting, but to buy/trade/sell these diamonds here in America. Some people might not have known of the issue in Africa but the traders do. This just shows how far one will go just to make some money for the unfortunate price of the people in Africa. I think its a good thing that Kanye and Fiasco created songs about the problem in Africa and the movie was a great interpretation. It is one of my favorite movies and it breaks my heart everytime, especially when Dia (the son) almost kills his father because of how much the RUF brainwashed him. This situation did not just happen to them, it happens to many families in Africa. Like Nancy said, I am also surprised at how little investigation there is on the situation, after all, we are the one to be blamed for this issue.
ReplyDeleteThe movie blood diamonds was extremely hard for me to watch. It was extremely shocking that such a violent war is actually going on. Can you even imagine being a kid blind folded holding a gun and when you took it off you realized you shot and killed someone? At that moment that child’s life changed forever. It’s devastating that families are being destroyed and children’s lives are being ruined all for what we consider a material object. Until I say the movie I was unaware of the war in Sierra Leone. When I have listened to the songs by kanye west and Lupe Fiasco in the past I didn’t really listen to the lyrics close enough to know what the songs where really talking about. It’s important for American people to know what going on in Africa. I think that the civil war in Sierra Leone is not addressed enough in the media/news and that why a lot of people don’t know about it.
ReplyDeleteMusicians and other famous people can actually be a great source for getting out important information that people are unaware of, like Kanye did with the blood diamonds and how System of a Down did with the Armenian genocide. If anyone here becomes famous, advocate something that someone never heard of, that's how you become cool. The public can't know everything that is going on all the time like that used to be able to. We live in an age where there's just to much shit happening all at once that it would be literally impossible to tend to every issue at once, so the media has to narrow down what we should advocate for at that time. Musicians and the movie industry did a good thing with the diamond conflict by making it what america needed to understand, and now we can be more conscious about where we are getting our diamonds from. It is a bit sickening to think that because of the value we put on inanimate objects that serve no purpose to our everyday lives, it can cost that many lives. It's even on a whole other level of fucked up when big business wants to take that diamonds from these harvesters and sell them off like it is nothing. Really guy? You want to be a dick and just ignore all that blood on your hands? Well that is just me thinking out loud. I dont know all the facts behind it but from what i know, that is my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHow are people suppose to find a diamond's history? Anyone can tell you anything and you would believe it. Just like those child soldiers. Being trained and brainwashed. They will never get back their childhood. I guess everything has a price. I am glad that there are people in this world that try to get the news out.
ReplyDeleteI never heard about the issue of conflict diamonds until Kanye came out with his song “Diamonds from Sierra Leone.” It is a controversial topic but not a lot of people know about it because the media doesn’t talk about it. People don’t know that when they buy a diamond someone in Africa was being killed over it because if they were told that then less people would buy diamonds. I think it is a situation that needs to be addressed but never will because we look at diamonds with such a high value especially in wedding rings. Kanye and Lupe did a good job in addressing the situation but it will never be a big issue here in the US because we value diamonds to high.
ReplyDeleteConflict diamonds are pretty messed up; a lot of conflict diamonds move into the black market and then get cut and put into real market... so for every diamond that is legally bought... there's a chance that a couple lives were sacrificed to get that diamond... Pretty scary thought. Sucks that diamonds are my birthstone.
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