Blood Diamonds 101

Because of the 2006 movie that came out entitled Blood Diamonds, a vast majority of the public has now become increasingly more aware about what they are, and the political and humanitarian issues surrounding them.

Blood diamonds, which are officially called conflict diamonds, are diamonds that are mined in in war ridden, conflict areas. For the most part, the world governments define conflict areas as areas within a single country, or between two countries where there is significant loss of life or tension between two or more political entities, whether or not they are recognized by world governments. A more modern example of a conflict would be what is going with Israel and Palestine.

While blood diamonds are mined in the same fashion as regular, safe diamonds in a technical sense, they differ in terms of how the work is accomplished. For instance, many blood diamonds are mined by children, in an effort to support their families. This financial necessity forces them to quit school, which has long term implications if they were to ever seek other employment in the future. In some instances, children and adults alike are forced into slavery at these mines. This usually occurs when their area of residence has been taken over by a different governing body, whether that be an internal or external ruling group.

These workers are also stripped of many rights, one of which is the right to safety and security. Areas where blood diamonds are mined have little to no supervision, and neglect standard safety regulations. These issues mean that many who either choose to mine these diamonds or those who are forced into mining usually suffer life threatening and fatal injuries, where they then receive no medical care or compensation.

At Lonnie’s, we take blood diamonds very seriously. We only purchase diamonds from trusted sellers, to make sure that our customers are only buying the best, safest diamonds.