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| May 16, 2008 |
EUFOR was on the airstrip when our plane landed- many vehicles, a chopper and lots of Frenchmen (and 3 Austrian medics) all heavily armed. They are based in Birao but are headed toward eastern Chad as there are reports of a major janjaweed gathering there. Lots of ragged, beautiful children were watching the activity. While I was talking to the lieutenant another plane landed. A spiffy one (Cesna maybe ) without humanitarian markings. Now this is a tiny dirt strip in the middle of nowhere so we wondered. Armed rebel group UFDr quickly surrounded the plane.This is an area where there are diamonds. LOTS of diamonds. Someone was picking them up. They would pay for the diamonds but not much. I don't know if the people here actually realize how very much money theses gems will fetch in other lands. The people who do the digging are paid less than five dollars a day. There would be a middleman. I was witnessing the exchange. Some well dressed people got out of the plane including a little girl, not ragged at all. She was wearing a pale blue gown laced with shimmering silver. She was carrying a white doll. The ragged children stared. Some guys carrying bags approached the plane. The pilot got out and stretched. I strolled up and asked where he came from. He told me he is French and that he'd been coming here for 20 years. When I asked whom he worked for he said he didn't know-"I just fly planes'. Someone said they are Iranians. The entire transaction lasted no more than 10 minutes and the plane was gone. It is heartbreaking and infuriating to see the resources of this country-one of the most destitute in the world-flown away. The people here have nothing. So long as the world's poorest countries are being plundered to serve the wealthy, I think everyone should stop buying diamonds. I know about the Kimberly process but clearly there are loopholes and shame on all who profit. Most of the money should go to the people of CAR. They need hospitals, there are few schools, the malnutrition rates are high.
No time to write more now. Sorry. It's rough.