Images of Sierra Leone Volume 17-Issue 3-Summer 2008
Story and photos by Ric Taylor, a diamond dealer and friend of Martin Binder Jeweler who also recently travelled to Sierra Leone. Read the complete published article here.
"Conflict diamonds came to the attention of the jewelry industry in 1999 when rebels overran the capital of Sierra Leone and the stories of the atrocities they committed became known to the rest of the world. The stories of civilians with hands and legs amputated sparked the issue and prompted the Kimberley Process, a system created to stop the illegal smuggling of rough diamonds and deter the funding of weapons for the wars in Sierra Leone and Angola.
Although the situation in Sierra Leone is so difficult for its people, I did see relief organizations trying to help. There's a great need for better food, water and medical supplies, but I didn't see much evidence of improvement while I was there.
I do know that there are some individuals in the gem and jewelry industry who are trying to make a difference. Bob Flude, of Martin Binder Jewelers, in Valparaiso, Indiana, for example, is running a mining operation near Koidu. He pays his workers $3 a day and provides food and medical attention.
Flude said he originally went to Sierra Leone to establish his own supply of diamonds, but quickly became sympathetic to his workers' conditions. "An extra dollar a day doesn't cost me a lot more, but it does improve the lives of the miners," he said. "There is a great need."
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