{"id":15465,"date":"2021-07-24T11:48:09","date_gmt":"2021-07-24T09:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kanaga-at.com\/info-viaggi\/sierra-leone-2\/the-gold-and-diamond-mines-of-kenema\/"},"modified":"2022-05-20T17:46:36","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T15:46:36","slug":"the-gold-and-diamond-mines-of-kenema","status":"publish","type":"info_viaggi","link":"https:\/\/www.kanaga-at.com\/en\/trip-info\/sierra-leone-en\/the-gold-and-diamond-mines-of-kenema\/","title":{"rendered":"The gold and diamond mines of Kenema"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\u00a9 I. Fornasiero<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

If coastal Sierra Leone is the Creole cradle of colonial legacies that bring back memories of centuries of slavery and European trade, the central-eastern region, around Kenema and Koidu, is the setting where the contemporary threads of civil war, centred on the exploitation of the diamond- and gold-rich subsoil, have been woven together.<\/b><\/p>\r\n

The illegal trade in diamonds, which served for decades to finance and arm the RUF rebels, accompanies one of Sierra Leone’s darkest chapters. Today, visiting the diamond and gold mines <\/b>is not only a way of approaching the artisanal realities of mining <\/b>and the still harsh lifestyle of the workers, but it also allows us to understand the abuses of a bloody war, of which the “<\/span>blood diamonds” <\/b>became the fulcrum and the pretext.<\/p>\r\n

Today, a new awareness <\/b>and political reorganisation is attempting to steer this fundamental sector of Sierra Leone’s economy towards <\/b>a <\/span><\/strong>more responsible and equitable ethos<\/b>. The sector that caused the war is now the basis for the country’s revival and redemption, washing away the blood and restoring the metaphorical lustre of the precious stones.<\/p>\r\n

Not an easy task.<\/p>\r\n

The mines in the region between Kerema and Koidu are <\/b>numerous, and it only takes a few small detours off the main road to come across one of the many concessions. Many are still in the hands of foreign companies, <\/b>mostly Lebanese, who pay a mining and export commission to the Sierra Leonean government, but the labour force, <\/b>the one doing the hardest work, is Sierra Leonean, the prime mover in the mining sector<\/b>. Thousands of Sierra Leoneans pour into the mines every year, plunging into muddy waters, digging and stirring up tons of clayey earth that is then sifted through<\/b>. Only a trained and experienced eye can spot a brighter pebble among the many muddy common stones.<\/p>\r\n

Workers are paid by the day and get extra compensation for each diamond found<\/b>. Buyers are always present at the site and have a right of first refusal to purchase following well-established agreements underlying each concession. Discards can be sold to alternative buyers. The mines are the site of the first negotiations and the first link in a long commercial chain <\/b>that will gradually raise the price until the final cuts of the rough and the final sale on the international markets of Antwerp, New York or Tel Aviv<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n

Beyond its historical, economic and geopolitical symbolism, a Sierra Leone diamond mine is today a reservoir of everyday life<\/b>, a reality and a Sierra Leonean<\/b> microcosm, <\/b>where faces, people, whole families, work hard and earn their living, always smiling and welcoming, hoping that that day can change their lives and destiny.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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