The money and weapons in exchange for diamonds have helped fund the civil wars in Africa, and led to atrocities committed against civilians. Let's look at the story behind the glamourous image of diamonds.
In the 1990s, the small West African countries of Angola and Sierra Leone disintegrated into bloodbaths of torture, murder and civil war. The carnage was fueled by the illicit trade of gems that adorn the fingers of millions of people around the world. The vast sums of money and weapons exchanged in return for diamonds have helped fund some of the bloodiest civil wars in Africa, a and led to human rights atrocities committed against civilians. For this reason, the stones have become known as "blood diamonds," or "conflict diamonds". Blood Diamonds will look at the story behind the glamourous image of diamonds. In the 1990s the story was sometimes examined by news magazine programs and in print, but hardly any production teams ventured to the dangerous locales where the story took place, and is still taking place.
