Between a Rock and a Hard Place

With hip hop icon Kanye West and Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio bringing attention to the issue of blood diamonds from Africa, many people are starting to wonder whether the diamond on their finger, that beautiful symbol of love, was actually mined by victims of civil war in Africa. It’s now well known that there exists a dark world of diamond trading that has lead to the murders of countless lives across the African continent.

Blood diamonds, mined in war zones and sold to finance a particular side of a war, are present in many parts of Africa. The 2006 movie, Blood Diamond, starring DiCaprio, has brought a great deal of international attention to the issue and has prompted many to now ensure the diamonds they buy are ‘conflict-free’. Produced without violence and human rights abuses, the majority of the world’s conflict-free diamonds are actually produced in Canada and are verifiable through an independent auditing system.

While the diamond trade in Africa demands immediate attention the exploitation for stone isn’t limited to the continent. There exists a seedy stone industry in India that sees workers being exploited for the rock that eventually produces attractive countertops in many new homes.

Blood Diamond helped shed light on the horrors of the diamond trade in Africa

The kitchen, the washroom – it seems that there is never too much beautifully polished granite in today’s modern houses, apartments and condos. But what many consumers don’t know is that these magnificent rock creations may be the work of young Indian children, or entire families working in quarries, for as little as 46 cents US per day.

While this is a relatively unknown issue, it is continuing to gain exposure. In 2005 the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported on the exploitation of an entire tribal community in the Chunar and Kodwari villages in the Mirzapur District. While the AHRC reported on extremely low wages for workers, what was more shocking was that they had been informed of at least four deaths related to injuries suffered at the quarries. The youngest of the victims was a 14-year old girl.

While most of these workers would rather be employed in other industries, for many, these opportunities are out of reach. These areas are often devastated by drought and have very little land that can actually be used for agriculture.

More recently, the BBC reported that the global building boom and the rise of interior design shows have increased the appetite for granite imports. They also reported on the poor working conditions at quarries in Bangalore.

Granite - India’s Version of the Blood Diamond?

In many of these quarries, workers mined without protective equipment for their eyes, hands and feet – all of which are obvious minimum standards in the West. It’s also reported that living conditions at these sites are inhumane. As many as 12 workers sleep in one room, food is scarce and healthcare is usually inaccessible.

Many of the workers are tied to the quarries by “bonded labour”. A member of a family, usually the father, will take a loan from the quarry owners and will pay off this loan by having him and his family mine for stone until the loan is paid off. This form of employment has been defined as ‘modern day slavery’ by the United Nations and is illegal under international law.

Unfortunately the problem will not be easily solved. Much like the diamond trade in Africa, little is known about how or where Indian stone is mined. Some argue boycotting the stone will force companies to adopt more transparent processes however critics say this will punish quarries that do provide proper working conditions and, in turn, hurt their workers.

Just as celebrities Kanye and Leo have brought attention to the issue in Africa, others need to do the same for this increasingly complex problem in India. Like most problems of this nature, it will likely take greater global awareness for quarry working conditions to improve.