Blood diamonds : tracing the deadly path of the world's most precious stones / Greg Campbell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Campbell, Greg, 1970-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Diamond industry and trade--Social aspects--Sierra Leone.

Diamond industry and trade.

Diamond miners--Crimes against--Sierra Leone.

Diamond miners.

Diamond industry and trade--Corrupt practices.

History.

Social aspects.

Sierra Leone--History--Civil War, 1991-.

Sierra Leone.

Physical Description:

xxv, 251 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

[Boulder] : Westview Press, [2002]

Summary:

First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of Sierra Leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. These "blood diamonds" are smuggled out of West Africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in London, Antwerp, and New York, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry. Eventually, these very diamonds find their way into the rings and necklaces of brides and spouses the world over. Blood Diamonds is the gripping tale of how the diamond smuggling works, how the rebel war has effectively destroyed Sierra Leone and its people, and how the policies of the diamond industry -- institutionalized in the 1880s by the De Beers cartel -- have allowed it to happen. Award-winning journalist Greg Campbell traces the deadly trail of these diamonds, many of which are brought to the world market by fanatical enemies, including the Al Qaeda network. These repercussions of diamond smuggling are felt far beyond the borders of the poor and war-ridden country of Sierra Leone, and the consequences of overlooking this African tragedy, as the world has seen, are both shockingly deadly and unquestionably global.

Contents:

1. From pits of despair to altars of love : Kenema, Sierra Leone

2. Diamond junction : a smuggler's paradise : Freetown, Sierra Leone

3. The gun runners : from Tongo to Tiffany's : Monrovia, Liberia

4. Death by diamonds : Operation no living thing : Freetown, Sierra Leone

5. The syndicate : a diamond is forever : London

6. Waging peace : taking the conflict out of "conflict diamonds" : Makeni, Sierra Leone

7. The way station : next stop, Liberia : Kailahun, Sierra Leone

8. "The base" : Osama's war chest : West Africa, Afghanistan, New York

9. The rough road ahead : mining for peace : Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-237) and index.

ISBN:

0813339391

OCLC:

49566172