High Human Cost Of "Bling" In New Documentary

A new documentary by director Raquel Cepada, "Bling: A Planet Rock", is a serious journey of three hip hop performers into Sierre Leone, the 2nd poorest nation of the world, and is an unsettling vision of the exploitation and poverty of the diamond market in this nation where virtual slavery, poor working conditions, and very low wages victimize those working in the diamond mining industry.

In fact the kind of inhumane conditions that surround the diamond industry in Africa often fuel corrupt authoritarian governments, wars, or perpetuate virtual slavery in the African continent.

If the documentary by Raquel Cepada makes persons living in the industrialized nations like the U.S. feel guilty about their appetite for diamonds at a high human cost to the poor of Africa including children, then it certainly should. Only some diamonds from Africa come from something called the "Kimberley Process" which is an agreement to prevent conflict diamonds between some governments and diamonds mining companies to limit the exploitation of workers or to prevent diamonds from fueling more wars in the African continent.