COMMENTARY: When Diamonds Lose Their Luster

c. 2000 Religion News Service (Dale Hanson Bourke is the mother of two teen-agers and the author of five books.) (UNDATED) If diamonds are on your Christmas wish list, you had better think twice. Diamonds are appearing on another list now, alongside socially unacceptable items like alligator bags and fur coats. But the problems surrounding […]

c. 2000 Religion News Service

(Dale Hanson Bourke is the mother of two teen-agers and the author of five books.)

(UNDATED) If diamonds are on your Christmas wish list, you had better think twice. Diamonds are appearing on another list now, alongside socially unacceptable items like alligator bags and fur coats.


But the problems surrounding diamonds are potentially greater and more far-reaching than other items. The link between diamonds sold in the United States and the horrific photos of limbless children in Sierra Leone is being made more often and with growing volume.

On Dec. 2, a national campaign was launched to raise public awareness of the issue and to put pressure on diamond retailers who have so far dragged their feet on efforts to identify the source of diamonds coming into this country.

Rep. Tony Hall, D-Ohio, joined about 100 protesters in front of the Tiffany’s store in Washington, D.C., to launch the campaign. Supported by Amnesty International, Physicians for Human Rights and World Vision, the demonstration also served as an opportunity to educate potential customers and to pass out postcards urging the top three diamond retailers to stop selling “conflict diamonds.”

Said Hall: “About 30 percent of the diamond industry’s worldwide profit comes from blood diamonds which rebels are smuggling out of Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The money they earn is used to continue and expand wars in these countries. …

“Americans _ the world’s largest consumer of diamonds _ ought to exercise their consumer muscle by letting jewelers know they don’t want to be a part of this blood trade.”

While Hall stops short of asking for a full-scale boycott of diamonds because some come from legitimate sources such as South Africa, he does urge anyone considering buying a diamond to ask their jeweler the following questions: Where was this diamond mined? Am I contributing to the bloodshed in Africa (if I purchase this diamond)? What are you doing to stop this blood trade?

The top three diamond retailers _ Tiffany’s, Wal-Mart and Zales _ are also targeted for a petition and postcard drive alerting them to customer support for this effort.


Tiffany & Co. said in a written statement it is “at the forefront of efforts to eradicate the tiny percentage of illicit stones at issue.”

But Hall contends, “There has been little action to implement their pretty words.”

Adotei Akwei at Amnesty International goes even further: “Tiffany’s has been the primary obstructionist in passing legislation to identify blood diamonds and restrict their flow into this country.”

The campaign comes in a season when diamond retailers earn the majority of their profits. And judging from some of the customers entering Tiffany’s, it has begun to make an impression on the upscale consumers.

Said one man who did not want to be identified, “I’m buying my wife a sapphire this year because we’ve heard the message. It’s not like it’s a huge sacrifice to buy a sapphire instead of a diamond, but at least I feel like I’m doing my part.”

The campaign is also gaining support from a variety of religious groups including the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Lutheran World Services, the Christian Reformed Church and the Maryknoll fathers.

Sierra Leone’s ambassador to the United States greeted demonstrators at the Saturday rally and thanked them for taking part.


“We are not asking you to send your military to our country. We are just asking average Americans to care about us,” he said.

(Editors: For more information on “conflict diamonds”: http://www.house.gov/tonyhall/)

DEA END BOURKE

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