Tarnished Diamonds | Teen Ink

Tarnished Diamonds

April 28, 2015
By CarsonS BRONZE, Stone Mountain, Georgia
CarsonS BRONZE, Stone Mountain, Georgia
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

You’re 10 years old and it’s 1991 in Sierra Leone. You are slaving away in a diamond mine to make money for your family, but you end up dying of disease. Some children had to face this grim reality. I feel it’s important to inform you of the nefarious acts that were being performed in Sierra Leone


Let our eyes open to this dreadful atrocity and it’s story. Such as how the  children have to endure 10 - hour - long work day. Also, most children lost their self-esteem and were depressed the rest of their lives because of the harshness of the mines. I invite you to read more on the door yourself. One point there were more than 10,000 children working in the mines.


In 1991, the Revolutionary United front rebelled against the Sierra Leone government which started a 10 year civil war. They turned towards children for their labor needs. They kidnapped them or some volunteered to work deep in the bowels of the diamond mines where kids are given no mercy.


The real question though is how can you help? I urge you to donate to UNICEF that helps families in Africa. You can also watch the documentary “Blood Diamond”.


As Bill Maher once said “A diamond may be forever, but terrorism, promiscuously funded, will be too.”  I believe in this quote because these children are being the right to childhood by awful people. So, you as young and healthy human beings should involved to make a difference in the world. You can do this because you had a good childhood that everyone deserves.



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