Blood Diamonds Research Paper

When someone thinks of a diamond one might think of happiness and joy, but they actually should be thinking of death, suffering, and abuse. Diamonds are suppose to be a symbol of new beginnings and love, but that is not the case for people who live in diamond-rich countries. Instead, beautiful diamonds represent violence and civil wars in countries like Sierra Leone and Angola. These specific diamonds are called “blood” or “conflict” diamonds, because over the past several decades they have intensified conflicts in many countries and caused children to be kidnapped and turned into killers while also suffering inhuman abuse.

The horrors of blood diamonds first started in Angola in the mid 1970’s to the 1990’s when a harsh civil war had started …show more content…
Sadly, things became worse for people of Sierra Leone when the RUF began kidnapping young children ranging from eight to 17 years of age. For example, Usman Conteh was just a young seventeen year old when he was taken during a rebel raid in his hometown and became a slave. At first, Usman Conteh expected to be executed by the dreadful rebel group, but instead they kept him alive and he was taken to the mines to dig up diamonds every hour of the day and night at gunpoint. Also, Lovette Freeman was just fourteen when she was kidnapped by the RUF, who sexually abused and beat her daily. Freeman did exactly what she was told to avoid further torture, which is why she followed the RUF instructions to hold a woman at gunpoint and abduct her baby. Freeman and Conteh’s fate was similar to over 20,000 boys and girls, which most of them turned into sex slaves and murders. The editor of Africa Confidential, Patrick Smith, further explained the terrifying situation by stating; “They would capture the children in a specific area, drug the children, brainwash the children and show them Rambo movies, fill them full of cocaine, marijuana, cheap liquor, and say “Your parents have betrayed you, they’ve betrayed the country, they’re your enemies, you've got to kill your parents” (Smith,

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