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Sierra Leone Profile

Sierra Leone Profile. Full Name: Republic of Sierra Leone Population: 5.7 million (2009) Capital: Freetown Major Languages: English, Krio, and various African languages. Major Religions: Islam and Christianity Monetary Unit: Leone Major Exports: Diamonds, Rutile, Cocoa, Coffee, and Fish.

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Sierra Leone Profile

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  1. Sierra Leone Profile • Full Name: Republic of Sierra Leone • Population: 5.7 million (2009) • Capital: Freetown • Major Languages: English, Krio, and various African languages. • Major Religions: Islam and Christianity • Monetary Unit: Leone • Major Exports: Diamonds, Rutile, Cocoa, Coffee, and Fish

  2. History of Sierra Leone  Sierra Leone: Name means “Lion Mountains” • 1462: Portuguese explorers arrive in Sierra Leone, which was also already occupied by several African tribes that had migrated to the area. • 1500s-1700s: Traders stopped in Sierra Leone to exchange cloth and metal goods for ivory, timber, and slaves. *Abolitionists later help slaves return to Africa in what is now the “Province of Freedom” or Freetown in Sierra Leone. They came to be called Krio.

  3. History of Sierra Leone SengbePieh (Joseph Cinque)  1808: Sierra Leone became a British crown colony • 1839: Slaves aboard the Amistad revolt to secure their freedom. Their leader is Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinque), a young Mende from Sierra Leone. • 1951: A constitution is enacted by the British to begin the process of decolonization (or when a colony becomes self-governing) • April 27, 1961: Sierra Leone becomes independent with Sir Milton Margai as its first prime minister. Sir Milton Margai

  4. History of Sierra Leone • 1971: Sierra Leone was declared a republic, and Siaka Stevens became executive president. • 1978: Sierra Leone became a one-party state with the All People’s Congress as the sole legal party. • 1985: Stevens retired and appointed Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh the next president. Momoh’s APC rule was marked by increased abuse of power. Siaka Stevens

  5. Civil War in Sierra Leone • March 1991: The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) began attacking villages in eastern Sierra Leone. *Goal: To rid the country of the APC government * Rebel leader: FodaySankoh • April 1992: The National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) was established, but it proved to be as ineffective as the APC at repelling the RUF. • 1995: The RUF held much of the countryside in their control.

  6. Civil War in Sierra Leone • 1996-2000: Sierra Leone tries various campaigns to stop the RUF, including signing a peace deal in 1996 that unraveled in 1997. • 1999: The United Nations finally became involved in the effort to disarm the rebels • 2001: A second peace agreement was signed that allowed disarmament to begin as the government regained authority in rebel-held areas. • January 2002: President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (elected in 1996) declared the civil war officially over.

  7. Recovery in Sierra Leone • 2002: British troops left Sierra Leone and President Kabbah is reelected.  Summer 2002: A Sierra Leone Special Court begins holding a series of war crimes trials that lasted until 2006. • 2003: Rebel leader Foday Sankoh died. • Many child soldiers, like Ishmael Beah, also had to begin a personal healing process to restore their sense of humanity and to forgive themselves.

  8. The Diamond Trade in Sierra Leone • During the civil war in Sierra Leone, people who purchased diamonds in the West unknowingly funded the mission of Foday Sankoh and the RUF • These diamonds came to be known as “blood diamonds” or “conflict diamonds” • These diamonds were specifically mined in war zones of Africa to fund the invading army’s efforts. • Liberia would trade weapons and training to Sierra Leone in exchange of their diamonds.

  9. BLOOD DIAMONDS

  10. Diamonds symbolize wealth, love, and grace around the world In several African nations they have been a means to power a reason to terrorize millions of innocent civilians, and may have even helped finance some of the world's most brutal terrorists

  11. Where Are Diamonds Found? • Rough diamonds can either be found below the earth’s surface through industrial mining, or in river beds and streams through alluvial mining. • Most of the diamond deposits currently mined in places such as Sierra Leone and Angola are alluvial, requiring only a shovel, a pan, and hard labor to mine.

  12. Diamond Mining • South Africa • Namibia • Botswana • Republic of Congo • Sierra Leone

  13. Where are the World’s Blood Diamonds? • Many of the world’s diamonds are mined in 3rd World nations. • The Term “Blood Diamond” is used to describe a diamond mined in a war zone, and usually used to finance that war. • Other terms for Blood Diamonds are Dirty Diamonds,Conflict Diamonds, or War Diamonds.

  14. Blood Diamonds What are blood diamonds? Also called “Conflict Diamonds,” Blood diamonds are “diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council” ~United Nations General Assembly December 1, 2001

  15. Blood Diamonds Why the diamond is such an easily traded commodity? Large Amount of Wealth in Small Size Form of Currency

  16. Botswana Sierra Leone Angola Nigeria Namibia South Africa Blood Diamonds Where does the Blood Diamond Trade occur?

  17. Blood Diamonds How countries like Nigeria and Sierra Leone are affected: Rebel Forces Use Diamonds to Finance Arms Purchases

  18. Todays Cycle • Many of today's diamonds are produced in 3rd World countries in Africa an South America. • The conditions under which these diamonds are mined are terrible with miners working under slave like conditions. • In addition in 1998 about 20% of the world’s diamonds were being used to finance wars of insurgency in countries like Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

  19. The Gun Cycle Continues • Like the Historical Slave/Gun Cycle. Guns are the product these rebel African groups most want. They often enslave men, women and children to work in the diamond mines or may pay them pennies a day to work. • Once again the diamonds end up in developed Western Nations, while the rebel groups trade the money they make for the diamonds for more weapons and the cycle continues.

  20. Blood Diamonds

  21. The History

  22. The War

  23. The Start • The start of the these killings and the illicit diamonds trade is when the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.) crossed the Liberian border to Sierra Leone • Brown, Pervinia P. "Blood Diamonds." WorldPress. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.worldpress.org/africa/2193.cfm>. http://www-pub.naz.edu:9000/~srourke6/images/gallery2_8.gif

  24. In 1991 a fewhundred men crossed the Liberian border and attackedtowns in eastern and southern Sierra Leone

  25. Once the war began money became scarce and people took things into their own hands by searching for other means of finding money to fund the war Africa is known for there diamonds, it is the most valueditem

  26. The Rise • The Government of Sierra Leone started Operation Genesis to stop R.U.F., but they could not stop them • During the 1996 election the R.U.F attacked civilians • Brown, Pervinia P. "Blood Diamonds." WorldPress. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.worldpress.org/africa/2193.cfm>. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/westafrica0405/westafrica0405_files/image001.jpg

  27. Easily Exploitable Resource • In areas such as Sierra Leone where alluvial, or river, mining allows easy access to quality rough diamonds, this artificially high price has encouraged rebels to take control of diamond mining areas in hopes of making a quick and substantial profit. • Rebel groups such as the RUF (the Revolutionary United Front), force civilians to mine for diamonds.

  28. http://whataboutafrica.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/blood-diamonds.jpghttp://whataboutafrica.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/blood-diamonds.jpg

  29. Blood Diamonds • In the late 1990’s the R.U.F started distributing illicit diamonds from Sierra Leone to the rest of the world • Campino, Anna F. "CONFLICT DIAMONDS." Sanctions and War. United Nations Department of Public Information, 21 Mar. 2001. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html>. http://www.amnesty.org.hk/UserFiles/Image/abc/conflict_diamond/8990_web.jpg

  30. The Growth of Illicit Diamonds • The Illicit Diamond trading grew R.U.F into a huge business millions of dollars worth of diamonds was flowing all around the world • Even though this was happening in the time no one really cared about what was happening • Campino, Anna F. "CONFLICT DIAMONDS." Sanctions and War. United Nations Department of Public Information, 21 Mar. 2001. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html>.

  31. Diamonds Fund Conflicts • Rebel groups use the profits from the sale of diamonds, upwards of $300 million a year, to buy more small arms and supplies so that they can sustain their military endeavors. • In the past decade, over 6 million people from Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have become refugees after being forced from their homes by diamond fueled conflict. • Millions more have died in diamond related conflicts over the past decade.

  32. Liberia is the main area of conflict: key meeting place for rebels, terroristsand othercriminal groups to exchange blood diamonds for weapons Criminals are able to trade these diamonds with ease and are rarely caught, they use the money to purchase illegal weapons

  33. “Illicit diamonds make fabulous profits for terrorists and corporarations alike. The trade illustrates with the hard clarity of the gem itself that no matter where human rights violations occur, the world ignores them at its peril.”

  34. Thousands of Sierra Leoneans have been killed and mutilated mainly because there was no large scale, international intervention in the early stages of the war

  35. The ongoing Blood Diamonds War has yet to cease

  36. “Blood Diamonds” • Africans who oppose the rebel groups are often slaughtered. • Those who most need protection are often those who are most often abused under this immoral trade.

  37. Effect The people of Sierra Leone were being hurt and tortured for the beauty of the diamonds “The international diamond industry's trading centers in Europe funded this horror by buying up to $125 million worth of diamonds a year from the RUF” http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/images/Blood%20Diamonds.jpg Cambell, Greg. "Blood Diamonds." Amnesty International USA. 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/diamonds.html>.

  38. Conflict Diamonds Increase Human Rights Abuses • Rebel cruelty in many conflict areas is well documented, and includes the abduction and training of child soldiers, amputation, abduction of males as diamond mine workers, and the use of rape as a tool of war. • Diamond profits allow for prolonged conflict and increased human rights abuses in conflict areas, • And despite UN arms embargoes and diamond certification schemes such as the Kimberley Process, the illegal sale of diamonds remains a profitable business.

  39. http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/diamonds.html

  40. Effects (Continued) “Throughout the 1990s, children like Jusu Lahia armed themselves with diamond-purchased AK-47s and, under the nose of the United Nations, helped the rebels sell the gems to terrorists.” http://www.operationbrokensilence.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/5811_600x399_600x399_0x0.jpg Cambell, Greg. "Blood Diamonds." Amnesty International USA. 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/diamonds.html>.

  41. The Victims

  42. Guiltless children are turned into soldiers and forced to mine for small bits of carbon that have no intrinsic value in themselves, and no value whatsoever to the average Sierra Leonean • 50,000 have been killed • Half the population displaced • More than two-thirdsof its already severely limited infrastructure destroyed • 130,000 people have been killed • Tens of thousandsraped, abused, and mutilated • Children make around twenty cents a day • Global diamond trade makes around $80 billion a year

  43. Differences Between Legal and Illicit Diamonds Mines Illicit • Legal http://diamonds-usa.com/blog/images/ekati_diamond_mine.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Sierra_Leone_diamond_mining1.jpg

  44. The Price for Beauty The price for these beautiful gems is 20,000 people getting there hands, ears, legs, and lips cut off . The deaths was speculated to be around 75,000 Cambell, Greg. "Blood Diamonds." Amnesty International USA. 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/diamonds.html>. http://undercovered.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/diamondsprice.jpg

  45. The Government

  46. Conflict Free Diamonds? • Because diamonds are small and easy to transport, it is difficult to track all diamonds leaving a given country. • Diamonds from conflict regions are often mixed with legitimate diamonds and certified as conflict free. • Though many diamond experts claim that one can examine a diamond and identify its origin down to the very mine or river from which it came, others in the industry claim that smuggling and mixing diamonds from different origins makes it almost impossible to know if the diamond indeed came from a conflict area.

  47. Antwerp: The Diamond Capital • Once diamonds are smuggled out of a conflict region, they inevitably end up in Antwerp, Belgium, the diamond capital of the world. • Annually, half the world’s rough diamonds, an average of $29 billion dollars worth, pass through Antwerp. Other trading centers include New York, Tel Aviv, and Bombay. • Sorting experts then categorize and assign value to the diamonds before sending them to cutting and polishing centers to be prepared for resale.

  48. The Kimberley Process • In May of 2000 the United Nations met in Kimberly South Africa to discuss ways to stop the trade of Blood Diamonds. The results of the agreement signed there have led to a reduction in the number of blood diamonds being exported. The trade in this industry has dropped now to less than 4%, however that still means that $1 Billion worth of diamonds are funding wars. • In addition most diamonds are still mined in African nations under terrible working conditions. Mines are dangerous places which often collapse, killing the miners inside. Because children are small and cheap to pay, many of the workers are small children.

  49. International Initiative: The Kimberley Process • In 2003, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a joint initiative developed by governments, the international diamond industry, and civil society, was introduced to help stem the flow of conflict diamonds. • The Kimberley Process is a voluntary initiative that requires participants to certify that shipments of rough diamonds are conflict free. • The diamond industry also voluntarily agreed to implement a System of Warranties, designed to help trace rough diamonds from mining to point of sale.

  50. The Kimberley Process is an international government initiative to stop criminals who profit from the illicit trade in rough diamonds A diamond certification evaluation sheet must be completed, that displays the diamonds origin Otherwise the shipment of that diamond must be confiscated

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