Despite its flaws, the Hollywood blockbuster _Blood Diamond_ introduced Western audiences to the role that diamonds played in fuelling Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war. That war ended six years ago. But it remains uncertain whether Sierra Leoneans will be able to harness their natural wealth to promote well-being and peace, especially when one considers the role being played by ruthless transnational mining companies that want their land and jewels.
For one small region of the heavily mined Kono district in Sierra Leone’s east, the problems started in January 2003 when the residents of Monkey Hill were suddenly informed by a Swiss-owned mining company that it had acquired the land on which the villagers’ homes stood. The area included roughly 800 square kilometres of fertile farmland on which 4,500 people depended for their living.
