'Blood Diamond''s Zwick: Industry must do more for West Africa

Diamonds

Save

E-mail

'Blood Diamond''s Zwick: Industry must do more for West Africa

By Susan Thea Posnock

February 06, 2007

Similar Stories | Topics

STORIES

Oprah discusses 'Blood Diamond' today

New York—The diamond industry's continued efforts to eradicate conflict diamonds and the plight of alluvial diamond miners were the focus of yesterday's 4th Annual Rapaport International Diamond Conference, which took place at the Hilton New York during the JCK Invitational.

Filmmaker Ed Zwick, who directed Blood Diamond, was among a large panel of participants that included industry leaders, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government-development experts and representatives from the fair trade constituency.

Zwick told attendees that his only agenda in coming to the event was his concern about issues facing diamond-producing countries, a topic he researched in preparing for and making his controversial film.

Addressing the objection from panelist Eli Izhakoff, chairman of the World Diamond Council, Zwick said that despite almost 75 years in West Africa, the diamond industry has not contributed to the betterment of the countries in the region.

"The nations of West Africa are still languishing at the very bottom of the human-development index and have been abused, abandoned and forgotten," he said.

In his most accusatory comments, Zwick charged that all in the diamond trade were connected to the violent atrocities that occurred in places such as Sierra Leone.

"The fact is that every single member of the diamond industry, consciously or not, benefited from the very stones that ruined Sierra Leone," he said.

Even as the industry looks forward, he posited that it has an obligation to look back as well.

"You cannot wipe clean the slate of an unsavory past and replace it suddenly with an altruistic face. To say that the Kimberley Process has solved everything, to throw around these numbers of 15 percent or 4 percent or 1 percent, it doesn't at all address the issue," he said.

Giving the historical examples of those who denied responsibility and turned away from the horrors of Nazi Germany and the actions taken in rebuilding Japan after World War II, Zwick suggested that what the industry owes West Africa is restitution.

Despite those statements, Zwick went on to say he's encouraged by the discussion of those participating in the conference, but added the industry must do more than talk.

"We do take credit and we do take accountability," Izhakoff stated during the discussion that followed Zwick's presentation. "I'm the first one who says that we have done a lot, but we have to do more. One of the reasons that we are here is to do just that."

Unlike industry events that focus on improving business, the day-long conference focused on improving the lives of workers throughout the diamond-supply chain, with particular focus on those at the very bottom of the chain, the 1 million plus artisanal diamond diggers who work in extreme conditions and live in poverty.

"Our goal for this one-day conference was to confront the most difficult issues head on," Rapaport Chairman Martin Rapaport said. "We believe remarkable things can be accomplished when industry, NGOs and government set aside their differences and work together for the common good."

Save

E-mail

Diamonds

Industry calling for swift action on Zimbabwe

Jewelers of America is calling on the Kimberley Process to fully and quickly implement a work plan to address the serious concerns surrounding Zimbabwe's non-compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, the system designed to keep conflict diamonds out of the international trade, and the reported human rights abuses in the Marange diamond fields. Read More

Sotheby's reports record-breaking sales in Geneva

Diamond symposium focuses on 'new normal'

More Diamonds

More Like This

Oprah discusses 'Blood Diamond' today

December 04, 2006 | National Jeweler Network

Video

Retailer Toolbar

America's Best Jewelers
Join the ONLY Social Network for Jewelry Retailers. Get access to expert content, peer best practices, and more.
Start networking today.

Newsletters
Topic-specific newsletters that deliver the latest news on jewelry, diamonds, wholesale operations and high-volume buying directly to your in-box.

ReaderConnect
Supplier information presented with every article, bringing you related, actionable content on every topic.

Yellow Pages
A comprehensive listing of associations, organizations, suppliers and services for the jewelry industry.

Classifieds
A comprehensive listing of job postings, product offerings and other materials for sale for the jewelry industry.

CustomerConnect
The most sophisticated suite of marketing services available for jewelry retailers, from Internet tools to data marketing.