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Documenting abuses in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields

Documenting abuses in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields

Miners dig for diamonds in the Marange fields of Zimbabwe, where the military forces adults and children into labor.

AP/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

Discovered in 2006, the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe are considered the world’s biggest diamond find in a century. The discovery, like others in Africa, was followed by a spike in corruption, human rights abuses and forced labor.

Farai Maguwu has worked extensively to document beatings, torture and killings of local villagers in Marange at the hands of soldiers with the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front. He's the director of the Center for Research and Development in eastern Zimbabwe. For his dangerous work, Human Rights Watch recently honored Farai with the prestigious Alison Des Forges Award.

Farai and Tiseke Kasambala, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, discuss their struggle against blood diamonds.

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