[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 96 (Friday, July 21, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1295-E1296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        GEMS AND AFRICAN NATIONS

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                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 20, 2000

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, today I pass along information about how the 
diamonds at the heart of several African wars could be transformed from 
a curse into a blessing for its people.
  Representative Tony Hall of Ohio has worked for months on the 
problems of conflict diamonds, in large part because of what he saw in 
Sierra Leone last December. Hundreds of thousands of people have been 
driven from their homes by fighting, tens of thousands have died, and 
countless numbers have watched as rebels hacked off their loved ones' 
arms, legs, ears, or noses.
  Mr. Hall of Ohio has spoken many times about this, and I urge our 
colleagues to look at the diamonds that are symbols of love and 
commitment to Americans a little differently--and look into the role 
they play in the war machines in several African countries. Not all 
diamonds are bloody, but the industry collects 30 percent of its 
profits from the ones that are.
  Today, there is reason to hope that the legitimate diamond industry 
is going to help choke off this terrible trade. I hope they will do 
more and endorse the proposals Congressman Hall made this week. Those 
suggestions are described in a thoughtful and interesting article from 
the Dayton Daily News. Its author, Kay Semion, points out ways that 
``gems could transform African lives.'' I urge our colleagues to take a 
moment to read it and I am submitting it for the Record.

                   [Dayton Daily News, July 19, 2000]

                   Gems Could Transform African Lives

                            (By Kay Semion)

       Diamonds are not always a girl's best friend, U.S. Rep. 
     Tony Hall says--not when they finance warlords who terrorize 
     the people of Sierra Leone, Angola and other diamond-
     producing nations. The Dayton Democrat returned Monday to 
     Washington from Antwerp, Belgium, where he had pleaded with 
     the leaders of the World Diamond Congress to cut off these 
     warlords and to help the countries they are devastating.
       On one plan, he will likely be successful. The diamond 
     industry is responding to pressures from him and others to 
     trace diamonds so profits do not go into the bloody hands of 
     rebel hoodlums. These outlaws are so greedy that they drug 
     children and train them to be brutal warriors, who can cut 
     off arms and legs without a moment of rue.
       On another plea, however, diamond executives were silent. 
     Hall urged them to help repair those nations that diamond 
     warlords have torn apart.
       He gave them two options: Contribute 1 percent of their 
     profits to nation-building programs such as UNICEF or Doctors 
     Without Borders. And begin a foundation--The Sparkle Fund--to 
     support a micro-enterprise system for certain African 
     nations.
       ``You could have heard a pin drop,'' Hall said of the 
     reaction to his quests for investing in Africa. ``There were 
     500 to 600 in the hall, and it was real quiet.''
       No wonder. It's easier to say you're sorry and won't do it 
     again than it is to help those who have been harmed--even 
     inadvertently.
       But Hall is right. And his proposed Sparkle Fund is most 
     promising, based on the successful micro-enterprise system 
     developed by Muhammad Yunus.
       Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist who was educated in the 
     United States and returned to his country to teach about 25 
     years ago. In walks he took during leisure hours, he noticed 
     that the women in villages were in a poverty cycle--making 
     products but not profits because they were always in debt to 
     the village loan sharks.
       His efforts to get banks or governments to help failed, so 
     in 1976 he set up a system that became known as the Grameen 
     Bank, The ``bank'' began with small loans from his pocket--
     $20 or $30--so the women could buy supplies for making chairs 
     or pottery. Borrowers became bank officers who then approved 
     other loans. The process not only ensured that loans would be 
     repaid but also provided help for those starting small 
     enterprise businesses. Today that bank has 35,000 branches, 
     hundreds of millions in loans and a 96 percent repayment 
     rate.
       Hall is asking the World Diamond Congress to borrow this 
     successful economic model.

[[Page E1296]]

       This ``is not a contribution to corrupt officials' 
     pockets,'' Hall told the diamond executives. ``It is an 
     investment directly in the poor who make up the overwhelming 
     number of these countries' citizens.''
       An investment in the mirco-enterprise system, he continued, 
     would demonstrate ``the stake you have in peace in Africa.''
       Here's Hall's idea: Market something like a ``Hope'' 
     diamond--one of the gems that could easily have come from a 
     diamond-rich country such as Sierra Leone. Use the profits 
     from that sale to start the fund, then contribute, say, $50 
     million a year to that seed money for a decade.
       Use the marketing skills gained in selling women on 
     ``eternity rings,'' Hall suggested.
       Consider what has happened with the Grameen Bank and other 
     micro-enterprise systems. The person who borrows money 
     (usually a woman) not only gets the loan, but she gets 
     supporting partners from the bank's committee. They teach her 
     business rules she may have no other way of learning, and 
     they offer technical assistance. In Bangladesh, the bank even 
     has officers who wander about the country using cell phones 
     to provide help.
       Almost always, these systems build up a network of devoted 
     people--the very ones who are approached and supportive when 
     relief agencies seek help to stop the spread of diseases such 
     as AIDS.
       Hall simply wants the diamond industry to transform blood 
     diamonds into sparkling gems. That's not too much to ask.

     

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