Using axes and machetes, the ruf chopped off the arms of some 20,000 civilians. The blood diamond conflict has had serious impacts on the political, economic and ethical areas. For more than a decade, the ongoing civil war between the sierra leone government and the liberia backed rebel revolutionary united front ruf has harmed the country. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. In his book, mgbeoji proposes, the solution to african political. Peace accord between the government of sierra leone and the revolutionary united front ruf of sierra leone in abidjan. He gets changed and goes into the street where some prostitutesthief comes up to archer and talks about diamonds. Their most common tactic of instilling fear and weakening any opposition is amputation and mutilation. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 history of terror kindle edition by venter, al j download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The revolutionary united front ruf was a rebel army that fought in. With the diamond mines under the control of the rebel party, the ruf became singularly.
The book blood diamonds written by greg campbell is a great book that really opens up your eyes to see what has been happening in sierra leone in the 90s and 2000s. Conflict diamonds, or socalled blood diamonds, are rough diamonds used by rebel dictators to fund wars against legitimate governments. The ruf was created by foday sankoh, of temne background, and some allies, abu kanu. Revolutionary united front ruf was a rebel army that fought a failed elevenyear war in sierra leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. The book is about how the sale of diamonds was used to arm the revolutionary united front, a rebel group whose preferred method of punishment for. The united revolutionary front in sierra leone led by the fanatical latisse matabu is determined to unleash. Analysis of greg campbells, blood diamonds essays 975. Ibrahim kamara 2000 to the economist, this is war motivated by greed. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 history of terror venter, al j on.
Rebel factions such as the revolutionary united front frequently terrorize the open countryside, intimidating mende locals and enslaving many to harvest diamonds, which fund their increasingly successful war effort. The group later financed itself through control of. The group later financed itself through control of the countrys diamond resources and for 11 years revolutionary united front ruf, guerrilla unit formed in 1991 in sierra leone whose actions created instability in the country that led to the overthrow of the government and a long civil war. Chief inspector pakad danielle barnea of the israeli police teams up with palestinian inpector ben kamal in a cooperative effort to solve crime. This war happened because a group of men believed that the recently independent government of sierra leone was corrupt bah pg. Conflict and collusion in sierra leone, oxfordnew york 2005. Charles taylor, the former president of liberia, helped sponsor and arm one of the groups fighting in sierra leone, the revolutionary united front ruf, partly to control mining of sierra leones diamonds. The three most senior surviving leaders, issa sesay, morris kallon and augustine gbao, were convicted in february 2009 of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas, or to label an individual diamond as having come from such an area. The ruf use violence and act upon the fear of violence as means to control. The 2006 film blood diamond demonstrated the manner in which the kids were taken from their homes and forced to become soldiers. Underlying grievances and the role of the revolutionary united front the root of the conflict is and remains diamonds, diamonds and diamonds. It was an idiosyncratic war, which started with the foday sankohs revolutionary united front ruf chanting the slogan no more slaves, no more masters, power and wealth to the people and ended with a series of battles for control for sierra leones diamond mines in the interior.
Other movies that deal with the quest for diamonds in africa include congo 1995 1995 and lord of war 2005 2005. Nearly half of the revolutionary united front ruf, and a quarter of the governmental armed forces consisted of children aged 814 years old. Child soldiers in sierra leone refers to the roughly 10,00014,000 children who fought between 1991 and 2002 in the sierra leone civil war. In the political area, the mining and trade of diamonds fuels deadly conflicts. Nowhere has this been more evident than in sierra leone during its 11year civil war.
A this is africa scene 1 early morning solomon with his son dia telling him to go to school so one day he can become a doctor instead of a fisherman like his dad. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. For instance, campbell in the book was able to successfully link the relationship between the blood diamonds in sierra leone and the september 11 attacks in the united states as well as other nefarious activities of alqaeda. This group used conflict diamonds to purchase guns that they then used to. Blood diamonds really shone light onto the issue bringing more awareness to it, just like the move did aswell.
Both men are african, but their histories as different as any can be, until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that. He is a vicious warlord fighting for the ruf revolutionary united front, the rebel faction that fought in the sierra leone civil war. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 by al j. The oscarnominated film blood diamond chronicles how the ruf traded diamonds for arms. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds mined in african war zones and sold to finance conflicts, and thereby profit warlords and diamond companies across the world. This is only just a little taste of what the african had to undergo because of the sick diamond trade. The ruf also known as the revolutionary united front, was a rebel army that fought a failed nine year war in sierra leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. The documentary can be watched online for free here.
Venter is a specialist military writer and has had 50 books published. At the age of twelve, he was one of the children who was taken away by revolutionary united front ruf and forced to become a child soldier. Moammar gaddafis revolutionary training camps in the libyan desert were driven out handily. The book is about how the sale of diamonds was used to arm the revolutionary united front, a rebel group whose preferred method of punishment for enemies was amputation, during sierra leones. The revolutionary united front ruf of neighboring sierra leone, whose fighters were fellow graduates of col. The war in sierra leone broke out in march of 1991, and it lasted until 2000. In the 1990s, revolutionary united front ruf rebels mined diamonds from sierra leone at gunpoint, using forced labor and prisoners of war. The impact would ultimately be felt by millions, thousands of miles away from the scene of the conflict. Revolutionary united front guerrilla unit, sierra leone. Viewers who have seen blood diamond recommend watching blood diamonds 2006 2006, a documentary about the exploitation of africa for its diamonds. The publisher of this book allows a portion of the content to be copied and pasted into external tools and documents. It was an idiosyncratic war, which started with the foday sankoh s revolutionary united front ruf chanting the slogan no more slaves, no more masters, power and wealth to the people and ended with a series of battles for control for sierra leones diamond mines in the interior. Revolutionary united front ruf, also called revolutionary united frontsierra leone, guerrilla unit formed in 1991 in sierra leone whose actions created instability in the country that led to the overthrow of the government and a long civil war.
They abducted children as young as 8 and used cocaine and heroin to engender in them loyalty and ruthlessness. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990s sierra leone, blood diamond is the story of danny archer an ex mercenary from zimbabwe and solomon vandy a mende fisherman. It was also home, until the beginning of this year, to a civil war, fueled by diamonds, wherein the revolutionary united front ruf, which is neither revolutionary nor united, killed 75,000 people and mutilated another 20,000, turning 80% of the 5 million civilians into refugees. This is what could be said to be the ultimate reason for this book blood diamond. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002 history of.
A new book spells out that good governance can prevent famine even in the era of. Right from the beginning the revolutionary united front, insurgents allegedly backed by charles taylor, a liberian warlord later to become the. One such unfortunate is fisherman solomon vandy djimon hounsou, from shenge. Revolutionary united front in sierra leone and unita national union for the total independence of angola in angola. Blood diamonds also called conflict diamonds, brown diamonds, hot diamonds, or red diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading armys war efforts, or a warlords activity. It later developed into a political party, which still exists today. The revolutionary united front ruf was a rebel army that fought a failed elevenyear war in sierra leone from19912002. Taylor prevailed in liberia and, in march 1991, he began supporting the militia ruf revolutionary united front in sierra leone. Blood diamonds, child soldiers and cannibalism, 19912002.
The revolutionary united front 1899 words bartleby. Conflict diamonds diamonds mined and traded by rebel groups have been. On march 23, a civil war began when the revolutionary united front, a group of 100 fighters from sierra. Blood diamonds are sold in the south of africa and where mimed by the ruf to trade for guns.
When the revolutionary united frontsierra leone rufsl entered kailahun. The revolutionary united front ruf was a rebel army that fought a failed elevenyear war in. Blood diamonds the trade in blood diamonds also known as conflict diamonds is a humanitarian catastrophe. Captain poison is the secondary antagonist of the 2006 political war thriller film blood diamond, and the archenemy of solomon vandy. Tracing the deadly path of the worlds most precious stones. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading sierra leone.
Drawing upon indepth interviews and focus groups with former child soldiers of sierra leones rebel revolutionary united front, myriam denov compassionately examines how child soldiers are initiated into the complex world of violence and armed conflict. Blood diamonds is the fifth book in the barneakamal series and providence author jon land writes a brilliant tale of intrigue that is a true pageturner. The sordid history behind africas conflict diamonds. Set during the sierra leone civil war in 19962001, the film shows a country torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebel forces. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
The sierra leone civil war 19912002 was a civil war in sierra leone that began on 23 march 1991 when the revolutionary united front ruf, with support from the special forces of charles taylors national patriotic front of liberia npfl, intervened in sierra leone in an attempt to overthrow the joseph momoh government. It is 1999 and the troubled west african nation of sierra leone is ravaged by major political unrest. Blood diamond 2006 frequently asked questions imdb. I952 diamond miners in yengema demanded a wage rise and shut down the. The origin and character of the revolutionary united front. The nature of society in, blood diamonds, is iniquitous because of the use of violence against the innocent. The revolutionary united front initially coalesced as a group of sierra leoneans which led national patriotic front of liberia elements across the border in an attempt to replicate charles taylors earlier success in toppling the liberian government. Ishmael life was different compared to other children s lifestyle. Terms in this set 29 whowhat is ruf revolutionary united front. By 1991, sierra leone had a corrupt government and openly illicit diamond trading and was a vulnerable and attractive site for armed rebellion. Blood diamonds ben kamal and danielle barnea novels isbn. C te divoire, economy of angola, economy of sierra leone, blood diamond, angolan civil war, sierra leone civil war, charles taylor, kimberley process certification scheme, jonas savimbi, unita, global witness, robert fowler, marange diamond.
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