Diamonds Are Forever (from Sierra Leone), Kanye West

Diamonds are Forever (from Sierra Leone), Kanye West The famous song â€Å"Diamonds are Forever (from Sierra Leone)† is not only a good song that is sung by a legendary music artist, Kanye West, but it is a hidden message political song that is directly talking about the precious blood diamonds from the southern countries of the continent Africa. When someone hears the two words â€Å"blood diamond,† most would probably assume that the diamonds are from Africa and that there are many people who die trying to mine for them.In reality, a blood diamond, also known by the names of conflict diamonds, converted diamonds, hot diamonds, or war diamonds, is a diamond that is mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts or a particular warlord's activity. These terms are particularly used in the context of diamond trading to indicate the negative effects for the sales of these said diamonds. Most of the blood diamonds are mined particularly i n Africa, where around two-thirds of the entire world's diamonds are extracted from.Overall, the main political issue that this song is referring to is the cold fought war for the control over Africa’s’ blood diamonds. The reason the country Sierra Leone is mentioned in the song is because of the huge war situations that the blood diamonds have caused. A little knowledge about this particular conflict; from the years of 1989 to 2003, the country of Liberia was engaged in a civil war. In the year of 2000, the United Nations accused Liberian president Charles G.Taylor of supporting the Revolutionary United Front insurgency in neighboring the country of Sierra Leone with weapons and proficient military training in exchange for blood diamonds. In the year of 2001, the United Nations applied sanctions on the Liberian diamond trade. In August of 2003, Taylor stepped down as the president, and after being exiled from Liberia to Nigeria, faced trial in The Hague. On July 21st of 2006, Taylor pleaded not guilty to the charged crimes against humanity and war crimes of which he was found guilty in April of 2012.It’s not too easy to tell if the diamond in the middle of a gold ring is a true blood diamond or not. In reality, there is no way to tell by looking with the naked eyes or even under a jeweler’s gem magnifying glass. Many influences about blood diamonds have been made famous. Some examples include the song â€Å"Diamonds from Sierra Leone† and the famous movie â€Å"Blood Diamond. † After listening to the song by rapper Kanye West, it sends out a deep message about what is going on in Africa on the war of diamonds. The music video that goes along with the song is also very powerful.A lot of the lyrics in the song include hidden descriptive messages about what happens because of these blood diamonds. Not nessacerily about blood diamonds, but what is happening to the southern African countries and what is happening to the pe ople who are forced to mine diamonds. In many cases, children are kidnapped and forced into slavery and forced to mine for diamonds. In other cases it is adults who are kidnapped from their families and forced to mine. After performing some brief research about the forced slavery for mining the diamonds, rebellion is typically not an answer.In simple prospective, people who are forced into the mining slavery are given simple choices; mine for diamonds or be killed, or mine for diamonds or you will be forced to kill your family and then you will be killed. This is just a sickening way of realizing that the diamonds on any wealthy persons’ fingers could not have only cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars, but also cost hundreds and hundreds of innocent lives that will never be remembered. In connection with the message to what the song â€Å"Diamonds are Forever† is trying to tell the whole world is that hundreds of thousands of people have died in Africa’s ongoin g diamond wars.One of the challenges now that we come face to face with is to prevent warlord empires from kidnapping and recurring, and to get diamonds to a safe place where they can be an engine of growth in the 15 African countries where they are mined, instead of a scourge. One of the verses from the song that really stands out to me is: â€Å"†What's up with you and Jay, man, are y'all ok man? † They pray for the death of our dynasty like Amen. Right here stands a man, with the power to make a diamond with his bare hands†¦ † This verse really stands out because of what it means to me.I believe it means that we are asking if people who are mining for diamonds are okay. In response, all we hear are the prayers that ask for the fall of their country, because people are being forced to exchange their enslaved lives for blood diamonds. But in reality, nobody knows who the â€Å"we† are and nobody knows who the people mining are because their lives have already been traded for diamonds. In simple words spoken by Kanye West himself, â€Å"Little is known of Sierra Leone, and how it connects to the diamonds we own. †