Today, Angola is the world's fifth-largest diamond producer by value. Much of Angola's diamond reserves are alluvial, meaning the stones have been washed out of the earth and scattered across the countryside. These are mined by Angola's artisanal miners--garimpeiros in Portuguese--who number in the tens of thousands.

Angola is now a leading member of the so-called Kimberley Process, an diamonds by insurgent groups. The 75-nation Kimberley Process was initially lauded for its commitment to human rights but critics say there's a big loophole: It doesn't take into account human-rights abuses in diamond territory controlled by governments themselves.

In the sprawling jungle of northeast Angola, a violent economy prevails in which thousands of garimpeiros eke out a living searching for diamonds with shovels and sieves. The diamonds are available to anyone with a shovel but are difficult for mining companies to secure. The work is backbreaking, alleviated by homegrown marijuana and small sachets of alcohol sold for a dollar. They live on-site in homemade tents, working in shifts. To support themselves while working they make agreements with buyers to split the take.

Garimpeiros service the many buyers whose gaudy storefronts line the muddy streets of Cafunfo. Many believe these buying houses fan the violence by encouraging more peasants to get into the mining business at the same time that government security forces have been tasked with stopping them. The diggers worry that the army is just waiting until they hit gravel so they can move in and take the diamonds for themselves. Because they lack government permits, miners and their families say they are routinely beaten and shaken down for bribes by soldiers and private security guards - and, in extreme cases, killed.



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