Diamonds are Forever???

No, this is not a review of an old James Bond movie. And no, this is not another one of those innumerable promotion campaigns by jewellery shops urging you to buy gold or precious stones from just their shops tomorrow and make an ‘exclusive’ profit (sei kooli illai, setharam illai) on account of tomorrow being akshaya trithya (the annual gold shopping fest in India when even the most bearish of investors suddenly lose their heads and rush to buy their piece of pie er… gold. This is actually a first for me. This is an awareness blog!

So anyway, we were just discussing diamonds the other day during a free period (yeah yeah just another average gossip session) and I found that many of my friends were sadly uninformed about blood diamonds. This is despite, what I thought would be, a kind of reflected publicity offered by the movie ‘ayan’. I only wish the movie had used itself as a platform to spread more awareness about this curse of blood diamonds. It would be better still if we had a movie like ‘Blood Diamond’ in Indian Cinema, but I guess that would be too much to ask for. ‘Blood Diamond’ is the ideal mix of entertainment and awareness. This is the only perfect realization, that I have ever seen, of the utopian dream of cinema for a cause. No other movie has  made me think as much or made me more sentient of what we as human beings are capable of doing to each other. Anyway I spent an entire afternoon researching blood diamonds, the day after I saw the movie, and this is what I found. And people, if you haven’t yet watched the movie, please don’t miss it. It’s the kind of movie that will make you proud of the medium of cinema. And it’s the kind of movie you cant just walk away from and try to ignore. My friend actually swore off diamonds for the rest of her life. You don’t have to take such an extreme measure but do insist that the diamonds you buy (after the recession) come with a blood-free certificate.

 

What is a conflict diamond?

Conflict diamonds are diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council. 
Also called blood diamonds, they are predominantly mined in war torn African countries by rebels to fund their conflict. Rough diamond caches have often been used by rebel forces to finance arms purchases and other illegal activities. Neighbouring and other countries can be used as trading and transit grounds for illicit diamonds. The rebels grossly abuse human rights, often murdering and enslaving the local populations to mine the diamonds.

Once diamonds are brought to market, their origin is difficult to trace and once polished, they can no longer be identified.

 Who needs to take action?

On 1 December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, unanimously, a resolution on the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict, breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict, as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflicts (A/RES/55/56). In taking up this agenda item, the General Assembly recognized that conflict diamonds are a crucial factor in prolonging brutal wars in parts of Africa, and underscored that legitimate diamonds contribute to prosperity and development elsewhere on the continent.

Governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, diamond traders, financial institutions, arms manufacturers, social and educational institutions and other civil society players need to combine their efforts, demand the strict enforcement of sanctions and encourage real peace. The horrific atrocities in Sierra Leone and the long suffering of the people of Angola have heightened the international community's awareness of the need to cut off sources of funding for the rebels in order to promote lasting peace in those countries; such an opportunity cannot be wasted.

 How can a conflict diamond be distinguished from a legitimate diamond?

A well-structured 'Certificate of Origin' regime can be an effective way of ensuring that only legitimate diamonds -- that is, those from government-controlled areas -- reach market. Additional controls by Member States and the diamond industry are needed to ensure that such a regime is effective. These measures might include the standardization of the certificate among diamond exporting countries, transparency, auditing and monitoring of the regime and new legislation against those who fail to comply.

Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

In May 2000, diamond producing countries of southern Africa met in Kimberley, South Africa to plan a method by which the trade in conflict diamonds could be halted, and buyers of diamonds could be assured that their diamonds have not contributed to violence.

On July 19, 2000, the World Diamond Congress adopted at Antwerp a resolution that called for an international certification system on the export and import of diamonds, legislation in all countries to accept only officially sealed packages of diamonds, for countries to impose criminal charges on anyone trafficking in conflict diamonds, and instituted a ban on any individual found trading in conflict diamonds from the diamond bourses of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

On January 17 - 18 of 2001, diamond industry figures convened and formed the new organization, the World Diamond Council. This new body set out to draft a new process, whereby all diamond rough could be certified as coming from a non-conflict source.

In November 2002, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created.

Transparency

The Kimberley system increases governments' transparency by forcing them to keep records of the diamonds they are exporting and importing and how much they are worth. This shows the governments their finances so that they can be held accountable for how much they are spending for the benefit of the country's population.

This seventeen-year-old lost both hands to rebels’ machetes.Waterloo camp, Sierra Leone, 1998. UNICEF / HQ96-0566 / Pirozzi

Botswana used to be a poor farm country but today its government works hand in hand with the Diamond industry to give Botswana a living standard 7 times higher than its neighbors. While the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone are now over, and fighting in the DRC has decreased, the problem of conflict diamonds hasn't gone away. Diamonds mined in rebel-held areas in Côte d'Ivoire, a West African country in the midst of a volatile conflict, are reaching the international diamond market. Conflict diamonds from Liberia are also being smuggled into neighboring countries and exported as part of the legitimate diamond trade. Despite its pledge to support the Kimberley Process and Clean Diamond Trade Act, the Diamond Industry has fallen short of implementing the necessary policies for self-regulation. The retail sector in particular fails to provide sufficient assurance to consumers that the diamonds they sell are conflict-free. It is up to us find out how policies are being communicated at the shop level, and what actions, if any, are being taken to ensure that policies are more than just rhetoric. At the same time, we’ll be sending a strong message to your local jewelers that their role in diamond-fueled conflict must end.   Stop being in denial. This is happening now. 

Sources:www.wikipeia.org, www.amnestyusa.org,www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html

 

THAMBI TEA INNUM VARALA!!!

Friends-Part 1

This is one post which has long been due. Not that I’d forgotten but I guess I was saving it for some special day like ‘Friendship Day’ but then I realized every day is special when you spend it with friends (yeah yeah I know….sooo clichéd!).

Anyway friends have always been a reaalllly really special part of my life. I’ve never been particularly close to my dysfunctional family, which is not that surprising considering the only thing all of us have in common is a hair-trigger temper. So friends have always dominated my life a little more than normal.

As long as I was in Fatima, I never had a fixed gang. There we had simple rules. Your gang was who you sat with at lunch. Somehow, I’ve lost contact with all my ‘lunch gang-members’. The ones who remain are those whom I hated in de beginning, tolerated later on and can’t live without now.

In DAV the rules got slightly more complicated. There, for the first time, I had a properly delineated gang. Also for the first time, I had fights over whom was close to whom, and who bad-mouthed whom and who was hiding secrets from whom. Not that having a gang leads to fights, its just that along with the sense of belonging also comes these unwritten rules and codes of conduct. Newayz if I managed to survive 2 years of hell in DAV without much serious mental damage, I owe it all to Hema and Sugi and Ramya. They were there for me at times when I’ve felt all alone, when it felt like it was just me Vs the Rest of the World. But thanks to them, I’ve never had to face the rest of the world alone. They’ve seen me at my worst and still for some unconceivable reason, they’ve decided to stick. Looking back, I realize I haven’t always been at the best of my behavior around them (being in close proximity with Nimmi had a tendency to unhook me for long periods of time). They’ve stood by me through my tantrums and all those tears behind the girls bathroom and they’ve protected me from the worst of it in ways I still don’t completely realize. Whenever I talk about friends having saved me, its always them I mean and think about in the back of my mind. I guess I never actually thanked you guys for doing what you did for me and I guess no matter what I do, I can never repay you for those days. I only hope I brought you as much joy to you as being with you gave me.

Post-DAV was when I really started speaking to most of my school friends (having been a timid follower of school rules, I never really spoke to the guys much in school, the operative word here being ‘much’J). So newayz, that summer of 2006 was when I met most of the people who later changed the way I looked at life. If I begin naming them, I’d never finish in 1 blog, so I’ll stick to those who really really made a difference. Harry, who is always somehow in the crux of things, be it good or bad, and whom I never got to and still dont get to see without a pink bandage swathed around some body part or the other. Maney, whose got incredibly bad taste in actors (you-know-who) but who plays cricket like a pro. Gan, who taught me snow-bowling and which I still suck at. Bha, one of the few people in this world, who is lazier than me. Dash, with his incredible and simultaneously awful sense of humor and who changed me in more ways than he can ever imagine. Deepak, with whom I’ve fought with more than most, but that’s because he is so much like me in some stuff and an anti-thesis to me in other stuff; there really is no middle ground between Deepak and me. Ani, who can make anyone and everyone laugh. Bd, who is one of the most responsible girls I know. Srivi, who is hardly ever serious and who continues to be stuck with me (same coll, same dept). Maya, always ready with a laugh (at her own mokkai jokes) but who is most level-headed than most people I know, constantly places others before self and who is extremely down-to-earth. Cd, who gets an entire paragraph later on. Ashok, the mobile expert. Subi, with whom I’ll forever I’ll regret losing contact.

I cant claim to be close to all of them and confide in all of them but I still know that I can always turn to them when I have a problem. Most of the times, they’re the ones whom i hang out with. Even that has dwindled down to only semester holidays now. We’ve never felt the need to coin a gang name for ourselves (the closest we’ve come is adopt harry’s email id-naamellam_tharuthalais- as our collective identifying factor) or assert ourselves in any other way. I guess that’s ‘coz this was never a ‘regular gang’ in the strictest sense of the word. For one, there were too many people in it. Second, even those people weren’t fixed. Someone would get committed and they would introduce their respective girlfriend/boyfriend to the ‘gang’. Or we’d have a fight over exactly and absolutely nothing and da Gang would split. Or someone would realize they’d had enough and leave 'la costa nostra'. I guess what bound us all together was this tendency to feel everything in extremes. Whether we are happy or sad, its always extremes for us. If we are happy, we laugh, shout, rag random strangers in the crowd and are generally on the top of the world. If we are depressed, we sulk, cut, break stuff, ignore everyone and make life living hell for all around us.There simply is no moderation. Thats just us.

Cd, who doesn’t profess her friendship from mountain tops but who is always there at the end of the day. The only person who actually enjoys my driving and doesn’t keep screeching behind me when on the road. Who can look at people and really look through them. Who knows exactly how to deal with people. And who loves handing out relationship-guidance to every poor soul who has the chances to meet her.

All in all, I’d say friendship was quite simple till then. In college, not so much. It took us some time to get settled. Even now we share an uneasy relationship. We’ve had more than our fair share of fights. We don’t go out very often and we don’t speak for endless hours on the phone but these are people whom I love and admire and who have taught me so much in these past years despite being so different from anyone I’ve ever encountered before.

Then of course, my busmates. Niru who introduced me to Ayn Rand and with whom I have endless discussions and also endless arguments. Seniors who Did Not Rag us and with whom we had ultimate fun Not Ragging our juniors. Bus days and Food Fests and Bday treats.

And then there were the friends I met through Instincts-seniors, juniors, my own batch mates. People whom I enjoy working with and whom I will always admire and who make time fly and even work seem fun. But that deserves an entire chapter in itself.

Friends-Part 2

Anjana, (I never quite got around to writing you a testi so I’ll make it up here instead) the one person whom I can love and hate at the same time. The one person whom I can talk to for hours and still not have enough. The one person whom I can sit with in complete silence and then start a sentence only to have her finish it. The one person who can listen to my crazy philosophical theories without her eyes glazing over and then actually agree with me. The one person who can talk as much as me and listen as much as me.The one person who continually drives me crazy with her extremely convoluted dealings of extremely simple problems. Very brilliant and very lazy and with no time sense at all. Hates my driving and is convinced that someday I’ll end up getting us both squashed into roadkill under some lorry. Says she keeps seeing final destination omens whenever she sits behind me but most of the times she’s got no choice:D. the one person who loves romantic comedies as much as me. Some of best memories in these last few years are those long drives with her and those walks together and sitting in my room for hours together, alternately talking and not talking while the light changes outside and the shadows deepen and her mom starts calling on my cellphone.

 There are friends and there are friends. And there’s Bhavya. My oldest friend (or is it longest?). On the serious side, she’s the most level-headed person I know, though she doesn’t look it. Hardly ever gets carried away, always makes the right decisions, never gets caught up on the spur of things, all of which are unlike me. I’ve never ever told you how much I admire you for that or in how many ways you’ve influenced and inspired me but I hope that some day when you’re feeling down, you’ll look at this and remember how much joy you’re capable of giving to those around you. My accomplice in crime and hair-cuts.  My learning partner. My co-director in imaginary blockbuster movies. My sight-seeing partner. The butt of all our jokes whenever we go to movies together. Center of attraction in theatres especially during very serious, nail biting, edge-of-the-seat-thrilling scenes. My ultimate critic. Hates over-sentimental dialogues. Always popular. Never seems to get around to getting me a gift although she pulls me along to select gifts for all her other numerous friends ( I think she does it on purpose to torture me). Lazy, brilliant, very ambitious and very very helpful. One person you can always count on no matter what. One person I’ll really miss if and when she settles abroad.

Then there are the friends who broke my heart. People whom I never managed to fully understand and I guess who never fully understood me. Those whom I’ve hurt and those I resent for being able to hurt me. I never could understand that quote bout how if you really loved something, you’d let it go. I’ve never been able to fully let anyone go. Someone once told me it wasn’t because I was wrong or the others were right. It was because I was different. I was too fast and the world was too slow for me. I guess he was right but then even he never understood me at all.

 

Many more have influenced me in so many ways. I can never list them all out for what they’ve done. Bemi, Reva, Sangi, Zamsi, Gp, Divya Subu (my namesake), Haripriya, Vetri anna, Rd who never shrinks from the road not taken, Anpu who’s very gutsy, Reni who is always cool and one of the few people who’ve really impressed me for precisely that reason, Arthy, Deepi, Bd, Kirthika, all the girls in my class. I’m really sorry if I’ve missed anyone. Its not that I’ve forgotten you or that you’re not important to me. You may not know it but you’re the reason I am what I am today. I know I may have hurt you either unintentionally or otherwise. But that doesn’t make me love you any less for the part you have played in my life.

 

With Love,

Divya

Classic case of Ahmed and the camel

First they close down the schools in the area, then they flog teenaged girls for God-knows-what transgression according to their depraved law, then they send sexually-frustrated, brain-washed and deluded young boys (kids who should be in school) to blow themselves and unsuspecting civilians up outside police checkpoints and places of worships, then their ‘patriotic’ leader comes out into the open and declares bravely for the entire world to hear that such attacks would continue twice a week unless US stopped their air-strikes on the NWFP, not to mention attacks on US soil that will ‘amaze the world’ and now they’ve caused the whole of Islamabad to come to a screeching halt following vague threats of attacks. Give them Swat and they ask for Islamabad. Serves you right for making peace deals with terrorists.

Closer home, our very own Mr.Vaiko warns of a bloodbath and the youth of TamilNaidu rising up as a ‘volcano’ and India not remaining one country if anything happens to LTTE chief Prabhakaran. When will our leaders stop cohorting with or supporting terrorist outfits?