Jacob Hedley
Social Action
Project FYS
Dr. Shutkin
Many people buy diamonds are not really
sure where the diamonds originate. These diamonds can come from Russia or from
Africa. The way they come from Africa is usually referred to as “Blood
Diamonds” because the way they are obtained. The way these Diamonds make their
way to western countries are through the illegal trade. The Diamonds are traded
by the warlords, which go to arm dealers. The arm dealers will then sell the
diamonds to third parties. The diamonds are obtained through slavery. When a
warlord conquers a village, he takes the able inhabitants of the village and
forces them to work in the mines. The inhabitants that cannot work in the mines
are killed. Some of the children are forced to serve in the warlord’s army. The
workers are not given breaks and are forced to work until they die. The
warlords are not concerned for their health because another village means more
workers. If a worker is injured they will be killed or have their limbs hacked off
with a machete.
The diamonds fuel the warlords with
money, weapons, and powers. They are the main reason why the warlords have the
ability to fight and to continue to fight. Without the diamonds the warlords
would not be able to obtain the resources necessary for their rebellion. So to
stop the warlords and to stop this injustice all you have to do is stop the
trade of the diamonds. There was bill that was created to stop this. The bill
forced all diamonds to have a receipt and prove where the diamonds came from
and how they were obtained. The bill has yet to pass. A lot of people will have
the diamonds and not even know it. The diamonds are in a lot of consumer
products.
The way I could alert people through this
injustice is through a documentary. The movie “Blood Diamond” was created in
2006 and starred Leonardo DiCaprio. The film takes place in 1990s Sierra Leone
and was about a arms dealer that had a change of heart and found a ruby red
diamond. He helps a man who was forced in the mines to make public the issues
of the blood diamond. The film was a blockbuster hit and was very popular in
the United Sates of America. The film was the first time I was introduced to
the issue. The film was the first time the issue was introduced to a lot of
westerners. Because of the effect the film had on others, and me I have decided
to do a documentary for my social action project. I have experience with video
editing and making movies. I will show clips from the movies and then relate
them to what is actually going on a do voice overs to narrate what I am talking
about. This is the best way to do this project because I think movies and
documentary get the message across better to people. The YouTube video Kony
2012 had a very large impact and made people across the United States alert to
what was going on with the children soldiers. I hope my video will have the
same effect.
Works cited.
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