It was an action packed film, which saw Leonardo Di caprio tackle a South African accent, which some believed he deserved an Oscar for it, whilst others were slightly less than impressed. Though thoroughly enjoyable it was to see Leonardo Di Caprio fighting for his life in the hot African sun, the film went deeper than this, and instead of just sporting a hearthrob across our screens, it educated millions of people on the tragic conflict diamond industry that still exists today.
For those who haven't seen the film, or were too busy watching leo,than listening to the educational content, I shall define exactly what a conflict diamond is.
Conflict Diamonds;
These are diamonds which are sold to fund armed conflict and civil wars. They are sold for billions of dollars, and the money is used to buy various weapons. Amnesty state that the wars so far have cost "an estimated 3.7 million lives!"
They are mined in war torn countrys, such as Africa, by rebels. These rebels abuse human rights, and often murder and enslave populations to mine for these blood diamonds. Many young children are enslaved too, and many are victims of amputation.
These pictures show the extent of abuse that people are put through, all in an attempt to find and sell diamonds.
Even now $23 million of conflict diamonds are entering the legitimate diamond trade.
The film " Blood Diamond," was released in the height of media publicity about the conflict-diamond trade. Kanye West also released a song, titled, " Diamonds From Sierra Leone," and a VH1 documentary, ironically named, " Bling," also came out.
The documentary concentrated on the relationship between blood diamonds and the influences of hip hop music culture.
When looking at hip hop stars today, what seems to be the most important factor when it comes to measuring quality, is not that of their talent, but in fact the amount of " bling" they sport.It appears to resemble a "high school" craze, such as Yo-Yo's, Furbies, Beanie Babies. However these aren't kids, these are adults, and their craze is at the expense of many lives.
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