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Hard Rock Wars
Hard Rock Wars

Sierra Leone has fought a civil war for over eleven years now. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has been invading Sierra Leone and it got to the point, where the capital Freetown was almost taken over by the rebel group. Now the important part comes in: If Sierra Leone is supposed to be such a poor country, how does the RUF get hand of valuable guns and other supplies? And then again, how do any rebel groups get hold of power in poorer countries?
Sierra Leone has some great diamond mines. So does South Africa, which is often referred as the headquarters of diamond industry in Africa. South Africa's economy is blooming compared to Sierra Leone's. Although Sierra Leone has thirty- eight billion inhabitants less than South Africa, some similarities are surprising; both countries were once colonies of Great Britain. They now suffer from a poverty rate over 50 percent. AIDS rages in South Africa among 20 percent of the population, when in Sierra Leone the rate is 7 percent. The main difference is that the GDP of South Africa, per person, is $6700, and in Sierra Leone only $472.
Why, then does not Sierra Leone use it's diamond resources to boost up economy? The answer lies somewhere in the wallet of an RUF leader. The RUF has gotten hold of some important diamond mines, and is selling something called illegal diamonds to make money and buy weapons. Guess which country is the largest buyer of these rare stones? Yes, USA seems to have plenty of people wealthy enough to collect sparkly jewelry.
The route from the West coast of Africa to USA goes often through Liberia. Illegal diamonds are transferred from the mines controlled by rebels to Liberia, where they are turned into international market. The buyers believe that the rocks are from Liberia. Even the government of Liberia has been involved in this trade. The president of Liberia, Charles Taylor was accused by the UN in 2000 of training RUF troops and providing guns and materiel to the RUF. The UN even found a connection with the RUF leader Foday Sankoh and president Taylor going back ten years on a rebel training camp.
It is very hard to brake into this cycle. The UN has been working to decrease the status of RUF and splitting the connections between Charles Taylor and Sierra Leone rebels. One thing, that I know is very hard to make actually work, is international recognition of this problem, which is preventing Sierra Leone from educating, feeding and providing a stable economy to it's people. Large buyers of diamonds should question the real origin country of rocks bought in Liberia. As a bottom line I would like to state that what is happening over seas and continents affects every country in one way or another. There is always a reason for countries being poor and they never willingly choose it.


Resources: http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/sierra/report/001220.htm#2II