“Diamonds are forever”, it is often said. “But lives are not,” says Martin Chungong Ayafor, chair of the Sierra Leone Panel of Experts. “We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilation and death in the name of conflict diamonds. » (United Nations 2). This is a very powerful quote from someone who has experienced and is experiencing (Gerund) first-hand the horrific terror of the conflict over diamonds in Africa. This war began because of the RUF's greed for money and power in the abundant diamond industry in different regions of Africa. In Sierra Leone alone, around 20,000 innocent people suffered bodily mutilation, 75,000 people were killed and around 2,000,000 people were killed. fled Sierra Leone because of the genocide or massacres (Gerund) perpetrated by rebel factions. However, with the help of the United Nations and many other organizations around the world, they have managed to galvanize (Infinitive and Vocabulary) this problem. The United Nations has also managed to reach agreements with some rebel groups to ensure that they stop terrorizing parts of Africa, and also creating a charter "to prohibit governments from obtaining funds from diamonds illicit”. (United Nations 3). By definition, conflict diamonds are “diamonds that come from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed (participate) to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and which are used to finance military action in opposition to these governments. » (United Nations 1). Conflict diamonds are one of the main reasons why wars in Africa continue and stifle the economies and development of other African countries. In Sierra Leone and Angola, conflict diamonds are used to finance many armies...... the middle of the newspaper accused certain key people involved in the massacre of millions of African convicts. Although efforts have been made to try to prevent this situation, this situation currently persists and has a herculean impact on the way diamonds are bought and sold around the world. Fortunately, people have spent many years finding ways to make the diamond mining industry more honest. If we, as a world, can find equal alternatives to illegal diamond mining in Africa, it would be just one step closer to a more peaceful world. Works Cited Brown, Pervenia P. “Blood Diamonds.” World Press. Np, December 13, 2005. Web. November 16, 2011.Hoyt, Alia. “How the African diamond trade works. » How it works. NP, 2011. Web. November 16, 2011. United Nations. “Conflict Diamond Sanctions and Warfare.” The United Nations. Np, March 21, 2001. Web. November 16. 2011.