One of the contributors at the Pierce Mattie Public Relations blog shares a speech given by Nicky Oppenheimer, chairman of De Beers at the World Diamond Congress in Tel Aviv this past Wednesday. What stood out to me is this statement regarding the diamond industry:
"How can any decent member of the diamond industry allow themselves to gain from the misery of others, or turn a blind eye and pretend that they are unaware? We have to be deeply concerned, not just because this situation has the potential to blight our business, but because we cannot allow such abuses to go unchallenged or cruelty to be visited upon fellow human beings on our behalf. We owe it to Africa, from whence we have derived so much of our wealth and our comfortable lives, and with which our industry, as I said at the start of these remarks, is inextricably linked. We owe it to ourselves."
I'm not a big diamond person - mainly because it is a constant reminder of the conflict going on in Africa regarding diamonds. I would hate to wear something that could have possibly caused bloodshed and I also find it hard to believe when Oppenheimer says this - "the great benefit they [diamonds] bring the nations, communities and people where they are found". It behooves me as to how a country that is so rich in resources is still considered a "third world" country. I still have yet to see evidence of these "benefits" that Oppenheimer mentions. If $8.3 billion a year in diamonds is produced in Africa, why are kids still dying from hunger over there?
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