Diamond Trouble in the Amazon
I was just reading about the troubles a diamond mine is giving a tribe in the Amazon.
Yeah, sure, we’d all love to have that kind of trouble, right? Well, not if you’re a tribal culture that values its way of life and outsiders keep coming in with drugs, alcohol and crime. Not exactly a good time for the natives.
The natives have actually quit mining the diamonds, although few believe them. They have a negative image in the local media in their area as bloodthirsty savages. Yes, they have killed some illegal miners, so it’s not entirely undeserved, yet nothing else has served to protect their land. It’s a nasty situation all around.
This is one of those areas where a style of life is disappearing, and in all honesty I doubt much can be done for it. I had a professor in college who once commented that he didn’t much care for globalization, but it’s like trying to stop the tide. I think this is one of those situations too.
Technorati Tags: amazon tribe, diamonds, conflict
