It’s very difficult to know if the diamond you buy is tainted with blood or not. At least that’s how we feel so we didn’t want to be a part of this trade. To me, a diamond is just a stone and it has very little value other than monetary. I don’t actually like jewelery so I wouldn’t wear a ring anyways. After talking this over, we decided to use a fraction of the money to sponsor a young boy through World Vision instead. To us it is symbolic of our union, something we do together, and it’s far more valuable than a useless stone. It’s been nine years now. The boy’s name is Ekundayo. It means “my sorrow has turned into joy.” He’s 16 and he wants to be a teacher. 
FWIW, you can’t trade blood diamonds anymore. All diamonds on the international market are checked (some carbon test or something) to verify their area of origin. That’s not saying that some of the larger conglomerates don’t have blood diamonds stashed away in their vaults, but no trade on them is allowed. If certain areas that produced blood diamonds reach a period of political stability, they will then probably release any blood diamonds in their possession. At present, the only way to get a blood diamond would be to go to an area where they’re mined and procure one yourself, a la the movie.
I’m not privy to diamonds, but I know a my fair share about international trade law. Loopholes are everywhere. I also know that once a diamond is cut and polished, it is impossible to tell where it came from. That’s a pretty big loophole.
10 reasons to not buy diamonds.
blacklooks.newsvine.com/_news/20 … y-diamonds
It is not just simply a case of eliminating CONFLICT DIAMONDS ie diamonds produced and sold to finance armed conflicts and gross violations of human rights. We also need to look at what is happening in those non-conflict zones, in the mining of diamonds and human rights violations for the workers in the mines.
I’m not saying that there aren’t legit diamonds to be had. And if some people like them that’s fine by me. I doubt, however, that all certificates of authenticity such as the one you have are legit. There are too many loopholes and too much money to be made. That’s not a good combination.
[quote=“RobinTaiwan”]I’m not saying that there aren’t legit diamonds to be had. And if some people like them that’s fine by me. I doubt, however, that all certificates of authenticity such as the one you have are legit. There are too many loopholes and too much money to be made. That’s not a good combination.[/quote]
All too true in Taiwan!
Because any diamond that can be traced to a blood mine can, eventually, be traded once situations stabalise, it is still in the main traders’ interests (ie in deBeers’ interest) to buy up diamonds from there so that they have a stock available that they can sell eventually.
DeBeers is also fairly keen to get hold of as many diamonds as it can get, regardless of where they are from, because it’s done well at cornering most of the world’s diamond trade and can hence set whatever prices it wants.
So diamonds from bloody mines are still being bought and there is still money going to them.
is this why girls are so lonely now?
but seriously, if you take this stance, then surely you also won’t eat fish from overfished stocks, eat meat from exploited land, use palm oil from deforested areas or invest in stock that goes up when these social/environmental companies turn a profit?
don’t buy coal either
[quote=“itakitez”]is this why girls are so lonely now?
but seriously, if you take this stance, then surely you also won’t eat fish from overfished stocks, eat meat from exploited land, use palm oil from deforested areas or invest in stock that goes up when these social/environmental companies turn a profit?[/quote]
Basically you have to stop buying anything from anywhere. Point is, as a buyer/consumer you have two choices:
- Research what you’re buying and where it comes from, or
- Buy anything anywhere without regard for how it came to be at the place where you bought it.
Diamonds are no different. If you’re going to buy from a dodgy hole in the wall jeweler in Taiwan with an even more dodgy looking “international certificate” that’s your business. But as per Maoman’s link above, there are perfectly legitimate ways to procure diamonds that have nothing to do with conflict areas or dodgy mining.
Example: I enjoy red meat, but I’m not too keen on ingesting beef that has been corn fed and pumped up on growth hormones and steroids. As a result I only eat meat from producers that stay away from these practices. If I’m not sure, I don’t buy it. Simple.
Those seem like fairly broad connections you all are drawing here. Blood diamonds, unlike meat farming, fisheries, and so forth, are proscribed for trade because they involve human-on-human malice and greed - in other words, humans get hurt, tortured, maimed, and killed for them, and whole populations, including human children, suffer.
Those other issues simply do not have the same gravitas and stigma to the broader population, and I argue that’s rightfully so. You can be against blood diamonds and not be as anti-industrial-meat and anti-industrial fishing.
Jesus man a fish is basically a plant!
Apples and oranges, sez I
[quote=“TwoTongues”][quote=“bismarck”]
Basically you have to stop buying anything from anywhere. Point is, as a buyer/consumer you have two choices:
- Research what you’re buying and where it comes from, or
- Buy anything anywhere without regard for how it came to be at the place where you bought it.
Diamonds are no different.
[/quote]
Those seem like fairly broad connections you all are drawing here. Blood diamonds, unlike meat farming, fisheries, and so forth, are proscribed for trade because they involve human-on-human malice and greed - in other words, humans get hurt, tortured, maimed, and killed for them, and whole populations, including human children, suffer.
Those other issues simply do not have the same gravitas and stigma to the broader population, and I argue that’s rightfully so. You can be against blood diamonds and not be as anti-industrial-meat and anti-industrial fishing.
Jesus man a fish is basically a plant!
Apples and oranges, sez I[/quote]
The point being, before you buy something, if there is any chance that it’s production/mining/trade/death would go against your conscience (or anything else), do your research first.
What would you do to get your next meal or that of a young baby?
Sell your personality or most probably your sexual favors.
Think about it? What would you do to save your kids from dying from malnutrition? When the world, as a whole, stands up, hand in hand saying NO CHILDREN WILL DIE FROM NOW ON, I can’t do much. Selling young girls into the sex trade? Look back at the caps. People DO what they need to do to survive. It’s not pretty and not nice. Reality forces us to some true realization.“Blood Diamonds”? Where the hell did that phrase originate. My guess is the people who don’t want poor people trying to feed themselves. Blood Emeralds? and many others. My soapbox is especially strong tonight so how about we pay single mothers/fathers to stay home and care for their kids? No need to work because the DSHS will send us a check every month for all our needs? Just my ramblings and more… No solution because there is none.
Bottom Line: People surffering to servive, whether it be labor or sex or trade, really sucks but are you are ready to support these people, or JUST SAY NO AND LEt IT HAPPEN AND THEN BE SHOCKED. Do you have a negative position that you can support?
How do people feel about buying shares in Tobacco companies. I reckon they are good investment what about the ethics ?
I personally wouldn’t want to invest in such a grossly unethical industry, no.
[quote] What are Blood Diamonds?
Blood diamonds are diamonds that are implicated in horrific human rights abuses including diamond-fueled violence, child labor, and environmental destruction. Diamond-fueled violence includes diamonds illegally traded to fund conflict in war-torn areas, particularly in central and western Africa. The United Nations (UN) defines conflict diamonds as “…diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council.” This narrow definition does not include state sanctioned violence, local brutality in diamond mining, or any other human rights abuses. [/quote]
That is how I feel about it.
That is how I feel about it.[/quote]
Do you think the diamond mining industry in countries like South Africa are unethical?
Facts vs “feelings” its a conundrum.
diamondfacts.org/conflict/index.html
polarbeardiamond.com/index.html
Conflict or ‘blood diamonds’ never represented more than 4% of the world trade in diamonds.
Currently that number is about 1%.