Blood Roses and Deadly Diamonds

does anyone know why this wont load properly?

So...I think I may be sticking to chocolates for a while.

god great job... this is the law of this world, some people born with star and some people born Crashed, is hard but is true

great pod! We can't remain ignorant about what we buy...

"Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil." - Plato

Great piece. I've be interested to see a follow up piece about the flower industry and its growing practices in East Africa, specifically Ethiopia. You could tie it in with an investigation into coffee growing as well, there was a huge controversy involving starbucks that occurred a few years ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6086330.stm

Also, VBS TV did a special on the Colombian Devil's Breath. Scariest Plant Ever.

Great piece.

If you want to go back to Colombia-- how about taking a look at the violence against union members in that country. Many U.S. companies are implicated and the free trade agreement was just shelved because of outcry from union supporters.

Wow. This is a great inspiration to do great work. This is one of the best Pods I have seen. By far! What I liked about this pod is that it gave showed the effort, blood, sweat, and tears given to produce something so materialistic such as diamonds and Roses. The movement of this Pod was great. (Considering it was shot in Africa and Colombia) This is just a great pod.

I really enjoyed your investigation about the flower industry, especially cause I live in Colombia l(bogota). Everything was very good, just one thing I didn´t like was your spiel about the taxis...taxis in Bogota, are just as safe, probably safer than most cities in Latin America...the industry is very weill regulated, they all have a taximeter and they are very cheap! I´m not a taxi driver or anything, but just thought there´s no need to "scare" people with negative stereotypes. (all this stuff about colombia being ´so´dangerous)

Great journalism. WRT to the blood diamonds, Current should investigate Viktor Bout, a Russian national who has been supplying the weapons for waring nations for nearly two decades. Check out "Merchant of Death" by Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun for Bout's history and connection w/ countries in Africa.

Another awesome Vanguard piece! Fantastic pod.

I knew about the blood diamond trade prior to viewing this, but really knew nothing of the blood roses trade.

Very informative and straightforward.

GREAT INFORMATIVE SPECIAL
I WAS NEVER INTO VALENTINES DAY ANYWAYS
MAYBE THATS WHY I NEVER HAD LONG RELATIONSHIPS LOL
BUT YEAH IM NOT A FAN OF COPPING ROSES OR DIAMONDS AND WATCHIN THIS KEEPS ME AWAY AGAIN
THANKS CURRENT AND TO ALL WHO MADE THIS SEGMENT..

interesting and informative... i agree with one of the posts above, even conflict diamonds seem senseless. what other opportunities are there though for worker in SL?

fantastically produced videos.

They have the technology to make diamonds in factories now

Great work. Congratulation!

Roses, diamons, bananas...and the list keeps growing.
Only educated consumers can change markets: Yes! you can find responsibly produced colombian, ecuadorian & kenyan flowers in the US and Europenan markets...

Stop purchasing the flowers coming from developing economies will deeply hurt employment, public expenditure... But paying an environmental and social surplus is what will make the difference.

You can do something! Look for responsible produced diamons, flowers, bananas, coffee...

J.

fantastic
great journalism
few people know this market of the symbols of love

I wish I could save this pod or something; I am so thankful that you made it!

Very mind opening. I think people know where and what blood diamonds are for the most part, but the roses is something kind of surprising. This was a good piece that doesn't just bring up the topic, but it covers almost every angle there is about the industry. The thing I find extremely interesting is how the diamond miners and the flower workers have no idea of how much money the product their handling is worth. I wish they did. Unfortunatly that is information that probably is talked about much. In order to better their economic standings then we are going to have to educate the masses. Which empowers them to make changes.

Maybe since we celebrate Valentines day with bloody diamonds and toxic flowers, it's a step up from being picked in a lottery to be someones year long lover (not by choice) or having the heart of a forlorn lover being sent to you in a box. Actually maybe it's about the same. In general capitalism kills.

I've talked to a few jewelers, and even though you can get a certified conflict-free stone, they say you can NEVER really know for sure.

My solution? Go with faux. There are several different types of faux stones out there, and they are, of course, less expensive than the real thing- and sparklier to boot. I guess the real question is- how important is the financial value of a stone to you? Could you be just as happy sporting something that looks so much like the real thing that only a jeweler with an eyeglass in hand can tell the difference?

Think about it.

Great journalism and shocking stuff. Especially found the diamond trade difficult to fathom, 30 cents and 2 cups of rice for that work? It's just ruthless exploitation.

The woman that is paralyzed has no proof that her paralysis was caused by working at the flower farm. Hemiplegia is usually caused by a stroke, and is sometimes caused by a disease that affects the spinal cord. If she had a stroke or contracted a disease, then how could the flower company be at fault?

There is also no evidence that any company was requiring women to have their fallopian tubes tied. If the company ever required a medical procedure to be performed as a prerequisite for employment, then there should be some sort of paper trail to verify the claim. Since no evidence is presented in the video for the verification of the claim, I assume that no evidence was found, or the journalists didn't bother to look.

The woman being interviewed at the farm claims that she makes $7.00 to $7.50 an hour. The minimum wage in the US is currently $7.25, and due to US agricultural labor laws, farms do not need to pay their workers overtime. These workers are being paid just as much as they would in the US, but their cost of living in Columbia is much lower than it would be in the US, so why all the fuss over worker's rights?

Pesticides and herbicides are bad for people, but as of right now, there is no way to grow flowers for a profit without chemicals. The company is experimenting with new ways to grow flowers without chemicals, and the workers in the video were all wearing proper personal protective equipment, so the company obviously cares about their workers, and they are working to better their lives.

This pod makes me question whether Vanguard really is journalism, or whether it is just sensationalized infotainment.

Excellent Vanguard piece, as usual.
It's too bad that those who don't care to know far outweigh those who do. They go about their days buying roses and necklaces with no thought to how they became available. It is that majority that keeps these businesses operating with such primitive, oppressive and harmful standards.
The message to workers from bosses, "The less you know, the better for me", comes through loud and clear as part of a much larger problem within governments worldwide.
In order for change to have lasting value, people must be educated to understand the positive differences it can make in their lives.

Great video!

The US Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP) has been working on the ground in Colombia with flower workers and their unions for years now. There are more than 100,000 flower workers in Colombia who cultivate, cut, and package flowers for the US everyday. The majority of the these workers are not only exposed daily to pesticides as the video indicates, but are forced to work up to 12 hours or more a day during times of high demand (i.e. Valentine's Day and Mother's Day); most are paid only minimum wage which is roughly $230 per month; thousands of subcontracted workers are exploited continuously because they legally do not have the same rights as direct plant workers when it comes to schedules, pay, and health care benefits; there is constant company repression for workers who try to collectively organize; and for the many that are often ill due to pesticides and being overworked, companies offer little or no medical attention and benefits.

ASOCOLFLORES is also part of the problem! This association is strongly and effectively marketing these flowers as "socially-responsible" when in fact workers and their unions continue to denounce the plantations these flowers come from where worker rights' violations continue to be an issue.

This is an ongoing problem! Please think about these workers when you're buying flowers and find out what you can do and how to stay involved.

Lupita Aguila, Program Coordinator for USLEAP

http://usleap.org/usleap-campaigns/flower-workers-and-economic-justice

http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2009/02/colombia-in...

http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2009/02/the-day-of-...

is this love...not sure about this one