Blood Diamond movie is a movie produced in 2006 directed by Edward Zwick. One of the cast in this film is a famous Hollywood actor, Leonardo DiCaprio. Behind the plot of conflict-filled stories, the film turned out to be one that inspired Leonardo DiCaprio to become an environmental activist.
This film is a true story that is lifted into a screen. In accordance with the title which is also similar to the story of a blood diamond, is a term used to refer to diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance conflicts, such as rebellion, attack of army war effort, or the activities of warlords. Thus, warlords and diamond companies around the world will benefit from it.
The story is taken from the diamond mining conflict that occurred in 1991-2002 on the African continent, especially in Sierra Leone country. The impact of the conflict was so great that the major powers made a deal not to use any wealth from the conflict area. However, the ignorant hands who tried to smuggle diamonds from Africa still continue to happen, some even willing to sacrifice their life.
This movie shows how many people who set aside everything just to get diamonds for the maximum profit. They have the heart to kill people who hinder their intention to dominate larger diamond mining sites. As a result, many children are separated from their families or even orphaned because their parents were killed by a group of rebels who defected from the government’s mission and created a war in their own city, Sierra Leone, Africa.
The situation that illustrates how torn apart a country by the struggle between government loyalists and rebel forces can be witnessed through this movie. This became one of the motivating sources for Leonardo DiCaprio to become an environmental activist, especially when he worked and interacted with 24 orphaned children in Maputo, Mozambique, during the Blood Diamond filmmaking process.
The beauty of diamonds is very inevitable. Many people are fascinated and want to have it so these precious stones become really expensive. Unfortunately, behind this beauty, the diamond obtained by passing a heart-wrenching process.
Another fact that needs to be known from diamond mining is that it can cause environmental damage. As is the case in Angola, South Africa, a century of diamond mining done carelessly has caused many casualties in the neighborhood. The irresponsible mining process has resulted in soil erosion, deforestation, and forcing locals to seek new dwellings.
More extreme, diamond mining can lead to the collapse of the entire ecosystem and our beloved earth can be destroyed. Just imagine, to find a rough diamond of 1.0 carat alone needs to extract 1750 tons of earth and consumer demand for larger diamonds is currently on the rise. That is, there will be more parts of the earth that need to be extracted.
Thousands of excavation pits make the topsoil constantly eroded so that it cannot be inhabited. The wild animals disappear and the land previously suitable for agriculture would only be an empty field. The excavation holes can also create health calamities because when they are showered by rain, the water will eventually become a hotbed of malaria mosquitoes and other diseases.
However, these horrible things can be avoided if diamond mining is done more responsibly and more humanity. Not only give priority to profit, but also consider the negative impact that caused.
This movie inspired Leonardo DiCaprio to protect the environment more seriously. Although the bloody events of diamond mining have long gone, we certainly do not want the conflict as told in the movie Blood Diamond repeated again.
