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Andrew wishes he was captain because isabel is IRRESPONSIBLE and shows up LATE TO CLASS :0 (keyword, WISHES) Andrew, Isabel, Dippy, Amelia, kim

a. Hook: What info/stats/pictures/stories will you use to start your presentation to grab the attention of the viewer i. Hook ii. Hook 2 b. the purpose of this project is to reasearch all about conflict diamonds, and to find and come up with some solutions to help the problem. i. diamonds have been the source of death and war because of the high value and demand for them in other countries. ii. this has resulted in war between nations and rebel groups to claim right of ownership to the mines in which diamonds are produced. iii. americans are no help to this problem. our consumption of jewelry and particularly rings, have only been fuel to the ongoing wars in africa. iv. many methods have been used to try to stop the exporting of conflict diamonds, such as buying from other countries where there is no conflict over them, to artificially making diamonds in a lab, to making rules such as the kimberley proccess that helps ban the distribution of diamonds from conflict nations. (andrew) c. Position: i. Answer the two project questions listed on the Stage One sheet
 * I. **** Introduction **

II. ** The Raw Material ** (fill-in name of yours) a. Diamonds The raw material is diamonds. i. The most popular use of diamonds are for jewerly. Companies such at De Beers, Tiffianys and Cartier produce beautiful diamond rings and diamond products. Advertising campaigns such as "Diamonds are Forever" and "A diamond is a girls best friend" make consumers want to buy the product.(Isabel) ii. Diamonds are also produced for industrial-grade use. Industrial diamonds are valued mostly for their hardness and heat conductivity. The hardness of the diamonds makes the diamond an ideal material for cutting and grinding tools. Diamonds are the hardest known naturally occuring material. A diamond can be used to cut, polish or wear away any material including diamonds. Industrial diamonds are most commonly used for diamond-tipped drill bits and saws.(Isabel, source:Wikipedia)

b. Where is it produced? i. Conflict-free diamonds are produced in Australia, Canada and the United States.(nikki) Diamonds are most mined in African nations; these diamonds have very little accreditable sources that can be used.(Isabel) ii. Conflict diamonds are produced in many countries in Africa and some claim to be conflict free but they can't be completely sure because they are easily brought in from other countries. They can cheat on the Kimberly process by saying that they are conflict free without being sure. De Scenza diamond company relies on faith of their suppliers, believing that the diamonds are conflict free. (nikki) c. How much of it is available? i. Enough diamonds are available to satisfy consumers. There are enough diamonds in other countries such as Canada for use that it is not essential that they come from the conflicted areas. (nikki) Diamonds are actually the most common of the gem-quality colored stones, they just seem like they are rarer. Diamonds seem more rare because De Beers makes them seem rare. They control almost all of the diamonds in the world so they limit how much is supplied to the market. (nikki) ii. Fact 2 (as many lines as needed) d. What products are made from this raw material? i. Sierra Leone is now at peace and exported approximately $125 million diamonds in 2006. (Diamondfacts.org, amelia) ii. Approximately $8.5 billion worth of diamonds a year come from various African countries. (Diamondfacts.org, amelia)

a. What is the nature of the instability in the country/region in Africa? i. Since the beginning of the 20th century, diamond-rich regions and their neighbors have endured unspeakable devastation for their wealth. The conflict diamond trade has dealt permanent scars to people and nations around the world, fueling bloody civil wars, human rights abuses, child labor and terrorist organizations. Countries like the US that are a large consumer of diamonds, lack finding conflict-free sources of diamonds and telling their customers where the diamonds come from. Not knowing the sources leads to deaths of many. Most people don't know where these diamonds really come from. Only the large companies hide the secrets. D espite widespread acknowledgment in the industry of their existence, these conflict diamonds have been smuggled into other regions and are now indistinguishable from the rest of the supply. Until now, it has been nearly impossible to verify the origin of diamonds and the conditions in which they are produced. (Isabel) ii. Zimbabwe: In the year 2007, Zimbabwe became a hotspot for large scale diamond smuggling. When the countries diamonds started showing up in South Africa they were said to be legitimate and conflict free and then were exported around the world. The Zimbabwe government denied all charges to the smuggling. The countries police officers were sent in to end the diamond smuggling, but they were actually responsible for harassment, torture, beatings and killings of locals and miners. Studies by the Human Rights Watch also showed that the Zimbabwe military killed more than 200 people in the Marange diamond fields takeover in 2008. (isabel)
 * III. **** Instability & the Raw Material **

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The DRC is home to many precious minerals, but the country has been struck by diamond related violence, disease, starvation and tribal warfare that have resulted in the deaths of over 5 million people. Since 1990 rebel armies in the DRC have been exploiting small scale diamond fields and using profits towards insurgent activites. In the past years, hundreds of thousands of Congolese have resorted to alluvial mining techniques and diamond smuggling to make a living. In 2009, tensions erupted along the border of Angola. Artisanal miners from the DRC were reportedly beaten and raped after the government of Angola discovered them smuggling in diamonds and mining on foreign soil. The DRC’s state diamond mining company has also been criticized for its violent attacks on artisanal miners that attempt to plunder diamonds from the state’s large-scale mines. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor, the DRC also uses child labor in their diamond mining activities. Despite growing international pressure to make the diamond industry safer, human rights abuses continue to pose an ongoing threat to small-scale diamond miners in the DRC. (isabel)

Angola: In 1998 they banned the trade of Angolan diamonds, but these rules have since been lifted. Angola's small scale miners continue to work in inhumane circumstances under the control of private security firms hired by large diamond companies. In 2006, Angolan journalist Rafael Marques documented cases of flogging, humiliation, torture, sexual abuse and even assassinations on just one site of alluvial mining in the Lundas, the diamond-rich provinces of northeast Angola. Amnesty International also reported dramatic human rights violations including assault and rape by soldiers and police among the diamond mines. Over the past few years, Angola has become the world’s fifth-largest diamond exporter, but its behavior towards artisanal miners does not seem to be improving. Angola’s current conditions demonstrate the inadequacies of the Kimberley Process in preventing human rights abuses in the international diamond trade, as well as the failure of cooperation between the Angola and Congo governments to eliminate diamond-related violence. (isabel)

b. How is the production of the raw material playing a role? i. The production of diamonds is causing many deaths of workers mining the diamonds.(isabel) ii. *In Sierra Leone a diamond miner named Mohammed Diallo has been digging for diamonds for most of his life. He recieved just 60$ US dollars over a six month period. At the Kumdoma pit where he works men receive a bowl of rice and sauce for hours of hard work. If they find diamonds they are paid when the season ends; the boss decides how much to pay each worker. The area once employed 600 people and now retains only 60.(Isabel)

a. Research on the American Consumer i. How big of a consumer is America of these products? 1. The diamond industry in America is a $20 billion industry. In 2009 the US had bought $12.76 billion from 71 different countries. America consumes 65% of the worlds diamonds.(kurt) 2. 80% of mined diamonds (equal to abput 135 million carats) unsuitible for as gemstones, are destine for industrial use. (this was actually accomplished by kurt) ii. What type of people are purchasing these products? 1. Most people that buy diamonds are either buying them as engagement rings or other presents along the lines of relationships. (kurt) 2. A lot of companies that manufactur tools used to cut or grind things also use them becasue diamonds are the hardest mineral in the world and they can put them in thier products. Diamonds can also be used in computer hardwear like micro chips or be used as heat sinks in electronics.(kurt) iii. How do these products make lives in America better? 1. They make lives in America better becasue most every person who receves a diamond ring or another type of jewlery that has a diamond is a happy person. 2. The second reason why they make lives in America better is becasue they are used widley in the industrial world. Since diamonds are the hardes minerals in the world it makes it ideal to use in drill bits or they have saws which have peices of diamond on them to cut through othe materials. (kurt) V. **** Responsibility and Solutions ** a. there have been many attempts to discourage the issues with conflict daimonds. one of these ways is through daimond distributers buying through other countries such as canada, and russia. i. one example of an organization that sells these diamonds has a website called brilliantearth.com ii. this group is dedicated to only selling conflict diamonds from canada.(andrew) 1. the first daimond deposit in canada was found in 1991 in the northwest territories. 2. there is alot of contreversey over weather buying canadian diamonds is an actuall discouragement to the issues with africa. there is an argument that this 'solution' is actually making the problem worse for conflictied areas, because of the growing desperacy for profits. iii. another solution to the conflict diamond trade i found was not an organizatin, but a contract signed between 74 different contries including the U.S. this was called the Kimberley process.(andrew) iv. the kimberley process was put in place to assure that diamonds were not legally allowed to be purchased or exported from conflict areas in africa. 1. after the signing in september, 2007, the amount of conflict diamonds distributed was almost completely gone, besides other private markets not monitored by governments. 2. 74 different countires signed the kimberley process, which was why it has been so affective. (andrew) b. YOUR solutions i. Identify and explain solutions your group came up with ii. When people are buying diamonds they should ask if the diamond or diamonds came from a conflict zone or not (kurt) 1. Diamond sales in conflict-free countries such as Botwana pay for schools, roads and clinics. Diamonds should not be boycotted altogether but should only be purchased from areas that are 100% conflict free. Buying diamonds from safe areas like South Africa can pay for primary school for kids under 13. (nikki) 2. iii. Look for stores that have a policy on their diamonds as to where they came from and how they were mined. (kurt) 1. Fact 1 2. Fact 2 (as many lines as needed)
 * IV. **** American Consumption: **

one http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3393/3238717722_f02abb2cf0_o.jpg http://www.ipb.org/i/photos/63-sierra-leone-lost-limbs-conflict-result.jpg http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2004/12/12/weekinreview/Seng1650.jpg http://whataboutafrica.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/blood-diamonds.jpg http://www.jamesallen.com/_uploads/news/India.jpg http://solitaireinternational.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/slmining.jpg

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=871 http://nl.netlog.com/go/explore/videos/videoid=nl-2122167

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoJNwmZ74bU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaqQjIzIbiY

Song Ideas ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOp4NAq6EHI&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WBbkAESBxA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxLXnccO5fQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQmYUC6Uaks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAuQmJzt_q0 http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=OMy8lKG6Atc&feature=related