West Africans Leave Farms To Dig Diamonds

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27634, 15 April 1955, Page 10

West Africans Leave Farms To Dig Diamonds

(From a Reuter Correspondent)

- FREETOWN (Sierra Leone). The early morning train from 80. heading towards Kenema, is crowded with Africans each carrying a pick and shovel. ‘They are off to dig, illicity, for diamonds. Each one hopes to make his fortune in a day. During, the last'two years illicit diamond digging, has become a major headache in Sierra Leone, one of the four British territories along the west coast of Africa. Bo is 180 miles from the city port of Freetown. Diamonds have been dug commercially in the country since 1932, and a British company has an agreement with the Government for the exclusive digging rights. All went well until as long as it appeared that there were only diamonds in a limited area—the area the company was already mining. But two years ago an African digging in. another part of the country turned over some moderate-sized gems. The word went around and it was not long before everyone was in the get-rich-quick game.

Two results' were that villages were left with only old men and women and children. Farmers left the hard toil on their land and supply of the country’s main food, rice, dropped off so much that it now must be imported. There has been a corresponding increase inthe cost of staple foods. in certain areas such as round Kenema. there may be hundreds digging in marshy land. Some work alone, others in gangs. Often, there are whole families at it. Some finds can bring £2OOO to £3OOO overnight. Smuggling Rife The fact that it is illegal to possess diamonds does There are plenty of people acting as agents who, for the 500 per cent profit to be made, are quite willing to take the risk of smuggling the diamonds out of the country. One major channel for them is through the Middle East to the Iron Curtain countries, although a lot are smuggled to America.

The problem has worried the Diamond Corporation, which controls the flow of diamonds and hence, their mar-

ket price, so much that it has had Sir Percy Sillitoe, investigating the smuggling privately for them. Once he gets his money for the diamonds, the African spends it. Often illiterate, he is quite capable of walking into his office of the nearest agent and paying cash down for a new British car. This happened one day, and the new owner, who could not drive and would not be told, put his foot on the accelerator, let the clutch in with a bang—and wrapped the car round a tree 50 yards down the reed. Two days later, he bought another. On a smaller scale, they never buy a friend a drink. They buy him a crate of 48 bottles of beer. For those who dig—and estimates suggest that there are 20,000 at it—there is no way of marking out the land. They go to an area in which the diamonds have been found, often along the river bed, and pick their spot. One group may work within a few feet of the next. Police Checks Stories of how diamonds are taken out of the country are legion and not necessarily accurate. The police have a number of theories which they cannot put to the test because of the great length of Sierra Leone’s border compared with the all too few police. Checks at the airport and the wharf are thorough, but even so some must get through. Occasionally, there are court cases and the penalties for merely being in the possession of diamonds are particularly heavy, with a nftximum of five years’ imprisonment and a fine of £5OOO. Still many diamonds get across the border, probably into Liberia and French territory. In the border area, there are no motorable roads but plenty of footpaths. It is possible, too, and it has almost certainly happened on one occasion, for an aeroplane to land in a flat stretch of cleared scrubland, stay for a few hours, and take off again with a valuable cargo of diamonds. The police in Freetown do not support the story that there is a regular smuggling air service, every Sunday, working to a strict time schedule.