Where did you buy this diamond from?

Is it the sparkles that so many people are attracted to this stone? The desire to own something so precious that people want it so badly. Or is it simply because of the way diamonds are being promoted to the world through advertisements? Diamonds are being sold as something which is a must for a wedding ring. For many people around the world, purchasing a diamond ring simply means going to the nearby jewellary store. But is it really that simple?

Unknown to many people, these diamonds come from Africa. Africa has been having internal civil wars for decades, even as late as the 90s. Some African states are still having wars right now. And as everyone knows, war requires weapons and ammunition. African countries certainly do not have the capability to make them. So how do they get weapons? They buy. Technologically advanced countries sell them weapons, in exchange for diamonds. Not many advanced countries want to admit it. And guerilla fighters enslave illegal miners to extract diamonds in order to sell them for money to buy more weapons. Such diamonds are simply termed "Blood Diamonds" or conflict diamonds.

It is sad that this world works by leveraging on what others need. In this case, African countries want weapons to make war, while the technologically advanced countries want the diamonds. Of course, there are legal companies in Africa that recruite legal miners and give them salary and so forth, just like a normal job. But the problem is the difficulty in trying to sort out the conflict diamonds with the legal diamonds.

One of the so-called solutions emerged. Governments and diamond industries came together in a South Africa town called Kimberley to discuss on how to combat the trade of diamonds from conflict zones. The result from these negotiations Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. After some further adjustments, the scheme was fully implemented in 2003, which is just 5 years ago. So what was happening before 2003?

The Kimberley Process was seriously flawed right from the start. The Kimberley system of "voluntary self-regulation" on the part of the diamond industry has meant a significant lack of transparency and independent monitoring efforts. This means that no one other than the diamond industries really know how the process is being regulated. The World Diamond Council, initially established to represent the diamond industry at the Kimberley Process, has failed to coordinate effective industry monitoring. Governments, too, have been uninterested in monitoring and regulating the diamond trade. It is simply a public relations stunt to tell the world that something is being done to regulate the sales of diamonds.

But the question is, are these stones really worth that much? Are these stones in very little amount in this Earth? Some say that the diamond industries regulate the sales of diamond by controlling the diamond flow into the market. This makes the price of diamond high, rarely going down.

Are the consumers of diamonds indirectly funding the wars in Africa? In a way, yes.

Brands the cause of rat race?

Ultimatum year signals the dawn of the working life which inevitably means the beginning of the rat race. From consumer goods such as shoes, watches, cars and...the company one works in, the norm of society judges one by all these. What does one look for in a career? Is it the brand name of the company? The standard set by society is that one is deemed to be successful if one is offered a job in an MNC.

Advancements in career, flexible hours and overseas assignments outweighs that of the "glory" of being employed in an MNC. True enough, working in an MNC would most probably guarantee a high starting salary. The immense pressure to succeed among a large pool of 'talents' can take its toll on the quality of life. Of course one can say competition brings improvement and can only be for the better. But what about the insatiable drive to succeed regardless of the presence of competition?

Many people get lost in the wilderness of the rat race world. Many place financial gains as the top priority of achieving success in life. Money, money, money. Everything is about money. Either one has it, or doesn't have it.

The most important thing in life is to be able to understand your own strengths and weaknesses. It is easy to come up with a list of strengths, but to name your own weaknesses and think of how to overcome them is a challenge to some people. Through this understanding of oneself and the ability to come to terms with your own weaknesses and strengths will one be able to look beyond the superficial world. To be the rat constantly running the endless race or to be the rat who is comfortable with itself, able to stop and look at the flowers and be allowed to explore its own abilities?

Hypocritical world vs beautiful world

More than a year has passed without a single entry on this blog. The only thing that is constant is change. A fresh outlook of things and a different perception of things engulfed me during the past year. The past 365 days has brought me to Beijing, Qingdao, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Guangxi, Malacca, Pulau Redang. The mere mention of these places bring back so much memory which will be treasured forever. The experiences I had at all these places are so diversified and at the same time, crushes the notion that Singapore, which happens to be also known as the nanny state, is the technologically superior as compared to other countries.

Life is about learning the art of hypocrisy. The eyes of children brim with hope and innocence, while the eyes of adults portray of hypocrisy which is a double-edged sword. Hypocrisy can lead to distrust and disgust. But if one takes a view from perspective, one can see that hypocrisy can also lead to order and discipline within the society. So, how does one decide whether he wants to do it simply because he wants to do it, or is is because he has to do it since it is the norm of the society and is widely accepted.

The common psychology of humans is to do things which are deemed acceptable to the majority of the human race. But what is deemed acceptable and what is not? For centuries, humans have evolved and certain standards have been set according to the different cultures and beliefs in that part of the world.

One has to see beyond the standards set by societies and achieve an equilibrium at all levels. To cross the borders of one's countries and to understand, respect and appreciate the cultures of other countries is important to achieving this equilibrium.

A mammoth task of having to recollect all the details from living independently, working life, travel endeavours, finding the significant other to school children is on hand...