Into our final unit of study in Grade 8 Humanities: natural resources and the conflicts they inspire. Last week we examined the case of Afghanistan, a country rich in minerals and energy resources, but also 97% dependent on foreign donations and bursting with corruption. The next decade will determine whether Afghanistan can harness the wealth of these minerals to repair the nation and send it towards self-sufficiency, or whether further despair is to come from internal competition over the resources.
Students analyzed these questions by looking at a variety of sources, such as Transparency International and Freedom House (watchdog groups) and then writing short response answers, the sort they’ll be writing a lot of next year in IGCSE History.
Next we’re on to diamonds, specifically the “blood” diamonds of Africa. According to CNN:
[T]housands of men, women and children in countries such as Sierra Leone are used as slaves to extract diamonds. They are often forced to use primitive, back-breaking methods such as digging into mud or gravel along river banks with their bare hands. The collected material is then separated using hand-held sieves.
These diamonds are then used to fund rebel groups in their often savage campaigns against governments.
Unlike oil and natural gas, which produce energy, and metals like copper and aluminum, which are used to make things, diamonds are a natural resource with no real use, aside from decoration. So why are they so popular? And why have they been at the center of so much destruction, death and human rights violations in Africa?
We’ll be trying to answer these questions for the next couple of weeks, all while examining a larger essential question: How do natural resources affect human decision making and morality?