Grade 8 students have been examining the role of natural resources in violent conflicts, particularly in Africa. [The map shows each African nation’s most lucrative export. Notice that most are precious natural resources.] Last week we viewed the film “Blood Diamond”, based on actual events during the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s. The film is an excellent representation of how the competition for the country’s riches benefitted a few and brought misery on everyone else.
Currently the students are writing synopses (summaries) of fictional movies based on natural resource conflict elsewhere. For example, some students are writing about oil in Nigeria and coca plant in Columbia. Unfortunately, the lessons of “Blood Diamond” are transferrable to many parts of the world, particularly where a weak central government exists.
Ask your child about these conflicts and read over his/her synopsis–can you see the how and why of that particular conflict in their writing? Does it explain how average people are affected by that conflict?