Diamond Road
Diamonds Are Forever! - Diamond Road - Twenty-four tons of diamonds are winnowed from the earth each year then undertake a highly secretive trans-global journey. By journey's end, these flaming specks of compressed-carbon will have enriched a tiny few beyond measure and made virtual slaves of countless others. Filmed on four continents, and beginning tonight, this thought-provoking but slightly longwinded three-part documentary examines the contradictions inherent in the multibillion-dollar diamond business, one that markets dreams of love but that is drenched in African blood, sweat and tears. While diamonds giant De Beers spends $US56.5 million ($A64 million) on its annual advertising campaign, Mohammed Dabo earns less than $US1 a day panning for the jewels barefoot in a river bed in Sierra Leone. He uses a wooden shovel and sieve. He's as empty as a pocket. He wishes that diamonds never existed. Tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans like him were murdered and maimed during a recent, 11-year-long war for control of the precious stones. Industry maverick Martin Rapaport bemoans the fact that the net effect of the diamond trade in Africa is to impoverish locals, as the distribution chain has been corrupted. Rapaport proposes a solution: fair trade jewellery - diamonds that are every girl's best friend. He's damn right. It's a dirty business that should be cleaned up.