WHILE THE CAPITALIST CUT AND POLISH THESE CARBON ROCKS, THEN SELL IT FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, THE ONES WHO PUT IN THE DIRTY WORK LIVES ARE POOR AND MISERABLE

BLOOD DIAMONDS!
In just the past two decades, seven African countries have endured brutal civil conflicts fueled by diamonds: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, the Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Diamonds intensify civil wars by financing militaries and rebel militias.

Many of the world's diamonds are mined using practices that exploit workers, children, and communities. A million diamond diggers in Africa earn less than a dollar a day. Miners are dying in accidents, child labor is widespread, and corrupt leaders are depriving diamond mining communities of funds badly needed for economic development.

Diamond miners who work in small-scale mining – panning or digging for diamonds – produce about 15% of the world’s diamonds. But their wages do not reflect the value of their work.

An estimated one million diamond diggers in Africa earn less than a dollar a day. This unlivable wage is below the extreme poverty line. As a result, hundreds of thousands of miners lack basic necessities such as running water and sanitation. Hunger, illiteracy, and infant mortality are commonplace. Even within developing countries, diamond mining communities are often the most impoverished.
How is it that diamond miners can be some of the poorest people on the planet? Small-scale diamond mining is usually an unregulated activity. Labor standards and minimum wage laws, if they exist, are rarely enforced, subjecting miners to the whims of cruel and exploitative employers. Many diamond miners work independently, but these miners tend to be unlicensed and lack access to global markets, limiting their bargaining power. In most cases, diamond diggers have little choice but to sell their diamonds to middle-men at below market prices....