The film navigates through an exclusive journey of the diamond trade which begins at the mines and ends as an adornment on women. Director Nisha Pahuja shares the story of her affair with diamonds with JCK India. Diamond Road is a three-part (The Dream, The Stone that Divides and The Arrival) documentary. It is a collection of stories with three parallel narratives from the diamond business that explores the distinct facets of the industry.
The voyage takes you through the diamond pipeline. It includes the journey of many organizations and people who are directly or indirectly connected to this business. Miners, manufacturers, traders, dealers, wholesalers, retailers, brokers, child laborers and thousands of unnamed people travel this road. These travelers share an unusual bond with each other.
The documentary took four years to be filmed and moves around the U.S., UK, India, Switzerland and Kono (a district in Sierra Leone). Nisha Pahuja, the director, along with the co-director, Manfred Becker, has made a commendable effort in illustrating the state of the diamond industry. The movie effectively portrays the emotions (love, purity and passion) and the economics (glamour, money, poverty and royalty) involved in this business.
The Dream and The Arrival
The documentary elucidates how a single stone carries different meanings for different people. For an individual in New York, a diamond is a fashion statement while for a man working in an African mine, it is his source of livelihood.
A wage rate less than a dollar per day in countries like Sierra Leone does not ensure the fulfillment of basic needs. Fundamental needs like education and a home become a dream for these miners. Mohammed, a 45-year-old miner from Kono (In Part I-The Dream), fights everyday for his bread and butter. Nevertheless, he nurtures the dream of finding a huge diamond someday, which will help him move towards a meaningful life.
A reflection of Mohammed’s dream is found in Manoj (In Part III-The Arrival), a 13-year-old diamond cutter from Surat. This young boy wishes to support his family and to fulfill this responsibility he moves to Surat, the largest diamond cutting and polishing center in India. His transition from an unskilled laborer to a skilled artisan (a diamond cutter) assures a regular flow of income for his family. It consequently conveys the social reality of India. Though the government has banned child labor, uncertain circumstances in life force children like Manoj to skip their childhood and become responsible men.
Manoj’s story runs alongside Akshay Mehta’s story (In Part III-The Arrival). He is an established and powerful personality from the Indian diamond industry. The film concludes with the return of Manoj to his family, while Mehta’s newly-married son, Arjav leaves home to handle operations in Antwerp. For Arjav, Antwerp is a new start of life as a businessman while for Manoj, Surat is a new beginning as a diamond cutter.
The Stone that Divides
Martin Rapaport’s journey to Sierra Leone shows the post-civil war conditions of the miners that have not undergone any significant changes. Martin was the first person in the industry to publish diamond prices (Rapaport Diamond Report). This resulted in threats to his life for two years. He wanted to bring a difference in
the lives of about 150,000 miners through this journey. Though this was not his first journey to Sierra Leone, his meeting with the miners yielded some promising results.
Other than these main stories, a segment on De Beers’s new ad campaign highlights the glamour of diamonds. The emergence of synthetic diamond player, Gemesis and its winning story reveals the grey aspect of the diamond business as cultured diamonds are considered a threat to real diamonds. The parallel stories of Jacob, the diamond broker, Maria Farmer, from South Africa who fights to reclaim her land which is taken away by the miners, Chris Aire, a celebrity jeweler and Andy Cohen, a Jewish diamond dealer, represent the diverse aspects of the diamond trade. The special focus on Andy Cohen uncovers his obsession for diamonds stemming from the fact that his forefathers had been into the diamond business for generations.
The documentary’s plus point is that it successfully presents dissimilarities in the diamond business. The movie exemplifies the real face of the trade without any extra emphasis on the negative agents of the diamond industry. Although an impressive documentary on diamonds, yet in the end, it leaves space for more information.
Nisha Pahuja in conversation with Abhilasha Kale
Nisha Pahuja studied English literature at the University of Toronto. Her directorial debut, Bollywood Bound was about four Indo-Canadians who come to Mumbai to try their luck in the film industry. Diamond Road is her second venture as a director and writer. The three-part series has been telecast in North America, Europe and Australia. She is currently developing her third documentary about her favorite city, Mumbai.
What was your objective behind this movie?
Diamonds have different meanings for different people. There are so many fascinating stories that revolve around this one object. For a woman in America, Latin America or Europe, about to be married, it’s a symbol of love and absolute purity whereas for somebody in Sierra Leone, it is slavery.
The diamond has immense fascination for people, whether in its structure or its qualities. Nonetheless it receives appreciation from the whole world. The glamour and mystery attached to this precious commodity lists it amongst the most wanted items. I wanted to understand the beauty and the ambiguity attached to this stone.
What did you discover during the course of making Diamond Road?
Diamond Road narrates a very complex story. I love Jacob and Andy Cohen’s story. For them life without diamonds is equivalent to a body without blood. A diamond has a special meaning for both of them, which is beyond money. Their emotional bond with diamonds was a pleasant aspect of this business for me.
What problems did you face during the shoot of the documentary?
Access to the industry was very difficult. People don’t want to disclose anything as they are strong believers in secrecy. They don’t trust the media as they believe that journalists are only out there to create an issue out of conflict diamonds. During the making of the film, we faced confrontation from not only the minor players but also the major diamond players, including De Beers.
In the second series, we have covered the current face of De Beers but access to the corporate house in London was a test for us. Our successive follow ups bore fruit, and they permitted us to cover their operations as part of this documentary. David Noko of De Beers helped us penetrate South Africa. In Sierra Leone too we had to struggle a lot to get to the major players of the diamond industry.
Do you believe that Martin Rapaport’s journey to Sierra Leone achieved its purpose?
Absolutely! Martin is one of the most powerful and wonderful people I met on the diamond road. For me Martin is a combination of courage and power. He really wants to help the victims of the civil wars and their aftermath. He has the power, the drive and the will to change the scenario of the diamond industry, which will require more time and effort.
He has realized the complexity of the situation in Africa, particularly in Sierra Leone. We were not traveling with the diamond industry and its operations but with the people, their culture, colonial history and corruption. Money is not the solution to all problems. We are talking about people who have been away from the basic necessities of life for years. People and NGOs come and go but no positive change has taken place in their lives.
Then what is the solution?
People in Africa have to look after themselves. Government, NGOs and social workers from Europe and other advanced countries will help them to some extent but they have to help themselves. Their will to raise the
standard of living and a faith in themselves is the only way to ensure a bright future.
What is the difference between African and Canadian mines?
There is a huge disparity between African and Canadian mines. Canadians use scientific technology for the underground mines, while mines in Africa are located at riverbanks. Inequality in the wage rates, working conditions and the facilities for miners working in Sierra Leone, Angola and South Africa are present. But the government in these countries has taken certain positive steps to regulate the wage rates and improve their lives.
How has your encounter been with the Indian diamond industry?
Incredible! India and New York were the easiest to access. People in the Indian diamond business are very helpful. I met power people like Chandrakant Sanghavi and Govindraj Kadakia from the Indian diamond business. Conversations with them were both insightful and inspiring. I was lucky to get a good mediator who assisted me in Manoj’s story.
What was the motive behind filming the marriage of Akshay Mehta’s son?
The marriage helped me show the success of the Indian diamond industry. I met Akshay Mehta, an interesting and lively character. In the end, Mehta’s son and daughter-in-law leave for Antwerp to manage the business. It indicates the wide network of the Indian diamond industry. It was a visually interesting way to get into the Indian diamond industry. Arjav leaving home for Antwerp, juxtaposed with Manoj’s return to his home added an interesting element to the last part, The Arrival.
What is the response to the movie?
A majority of people appreciated the movie. Some people said that we could have had a much deeper storyline. I agree with them to an extent, we could have spent more time in Sierra Leone. The people featured in the film are probably the happiest with the outcome. I don’t think we would affect the industry in any unwanted manner. A movie like Blood Diamond and its controversy didn’t have any ill effects on the industry.
The consumers are still buying diamonds and diamond jewelry. We haven’t put the diamond trade in a negative light. We only showed reality.
Which is the right word to define diamonds: blood or love?
Bloody love!!! I don’t think we can say either blood or love. The diamond itself is a perfect metaphor with so many facets. Every facet has its own story to share. Every time you turn a diamond, you come across an unusual human story, different realities for different places. I think a diamond is a complicated business and commodity. People fight for love, blood, commodity and money. A similar hidden war is also present in this industry. The irony with diamonds is that it is a symbol of love and purity, but when you go deeper into a diamond’s story, it discloses shocking realities related to blood.
Are you planning to explore other facets of the industry as well?
I am finished with diamonds. I invested four years to explore it, can’t do anything more.
Will you buy diamond jewelry for yourself?
No! Not till I get an assurance from the diamond industry of using only conflict - free diamonds.