Mbenga and his five man
team are only a few of the miners in the blood diamond trade. They work in
Dipumba, once a beautiful village that is now a landscape filled with
tiny water wells that men can barely fit into. The only tools these men bring
to work at the crack of dawn are an old pick, a rope, and
a raggedy sack. These poor men don’t have any gloves, shoes, hard hats or
flashlights. Everyday Mbenga climbs down the dark, cold, and dangerous mines
where miners are known to be buried alive. Even though he knows this is a
dangerous job, his mind is filled with thoughts of his wife and eight children at home that he has to
feed and clothe. Another thought on his mind is his two week old baby boy he is now responsible for. Mbenga once found a rock that was
one carat and he sold it for $500. Once he paid his team and the landlord that
leases the land they mine on, he got less than $50 for himself. (Koinange, 2006) Unfortunately, this outcome is typical because most miners who find a diamond only get $5 from a merchant who will sell a necklace for $1,000! (Campbell, 10)
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