Political corruption is a rampant problem in Sierra Leone. It has been an ongoing issue that still needs to be dealt with to this day. In 1991, civil war erupted in Sierra Leone because of the blood diamond industry and the power struggle that ensued between the government and the ruthless rebel groups, the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.).
Over 50, 000 civilians died and half the populations were displaced. The political decisions were influenced due to the geographical factors such as the mass amount of diamonds in Sierra Leone and it being a relatively poor country. The government in an attempt to minimize the power of f the rebels invited them to join the government. This did not end the violence nor stop the brutality. The diamond trade was too valuable.
The money that was generated by the diamond trade didn't benefit the country, but rather a small group of people. With the use of violence the R.U.F. successfully took over the diamond industry and wielded considerable power. With the money profited by these blood diamonds (called blood diamonds because of all the blood shed and the violence in Africa) they used the profits to purchase weapons and supplies and cement their power. The rebels inflicted pain and fear in the general population of Sierra Leone. Innocent citizens were killed, raped and young boys were brainwashed into becoming young soldiers.
The sovereignty in Sierra Leone prevented countries to intervene with their crisis. The government was corrupt and countries understood that help was not wanted and would not be permitted in the country. Any money given to the country from other nations would be taken and used to fund the political leaders and R.U.F. The United Nation did not enter the conflict in Sierra Leone until June 2001. The international community ignored and turned a blind eye to the suffering of the ordinary civilians of Sierra Leone .Human rights were violated daily, terror and fear became common place occurrences.
After ten years of conflict, the citizens received international help but the damage had been done. Thousands of people were killed and most of the infrastructure of the country was destroyed. The failure of the international community to respond to this crisis reminds us of the tragedy in Rwanda. In 1994, Rwandans were massacred by the Janjaweed for being Tutsi (a group of people that are black but have European features. The Belgians dubbed the Tutsi). The United Nations intervened too late and as in Sierra Leone the failure to act immediately allowed the atrocities to continue. Over half a million Rwandans died.
There was no political will to change the status quo because many people benefited from the illegal trade of diamonds. Millions of dollars were generated but only a handful of people benefited.
