“Diamonds are forever” is often said. “But not lives,” says Martin Chungong Ayafor, president of the Sierra Leone think tank, “we must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilation and death for the sake of conflict diamonds.” (United Nations 2). This is a very powerful quote from someone who has experienced and is experiencing (Gerund) firsthand the gruesome terror of the conflict over diamonds in Africa. This war started due to the RUF's greed for money and power in the diamond industry in different parts of Africa. In Sierra Leone alone, approximately 20,000 innocent people have suffered body mutilation, 75,000 people have been killed, and approximately 2,000,000 people have fled Sierra Leone due to genocide or mass murder (Gerund) carried out by rebel factions. However, with the help of the United Nations and many other organizations around the world, they have been able to galvanize (Infinitive and a vocabulary word) this issue. The UN also managed to reach agreements with some rebel groups to ensure they stopped terrorizing parts of Africa, and also by creating a charter “to prohibit governments from obtaining funds from illicit diamonds”. (United Nations 3). Conflict diamonds by definition are “diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed (Participio) to legitimate, internationally recognized governments, and are used to finance military actions in opposition to such governments.” (United Nations 1). Conflict diamonds are one of the main reasons why wars in Africa are prolonged and the stifling of economies and development in other African countries. In Sierra Leone and Angola, conflict diamonds are used to finance many militiamen... middle of paper... has indicted some key people involved in the massacre of millions of convicted Africans. Although efforts have been made to prevent this from happening, the situation is still ongoing and has a titanic 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 could find equal alternatives to illegal diamond mining in Africa, then this would be just one step towards achieving 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 things work. Np, 2011. Web. 16 November 2011. United Nations. “Sanctions and War on Conflict Diamonds.” United Nations. Np, March 21, 2001. Web. November 16. 2011.