SynopsisThe film Blood Diamond begins with a man and his son walking along a road in Sierra Leone. It is obvious that the man Solomon is a loving father to his son God. They talk about Dia's future as a doctor until Solomon sees a car full of Revolutionary United Front (RUF) soldiers coming down the road. The RUF soldiers are there to kidnap young men and turn them into child soldiers, as well as take some adult men to work in the diamond fields. The RUF is cutting off the hands of some grown men, but decides to spare Solomon and use him in the diamond business. They kidnap Dia where they later abuse and brainwash him into becoming a child soldier. The film then continues with Solomon working in a diamond field where he watches another man get killed for taking a diamond, while all this is happening he finds a giant. diamond that hides under the toes and leads to bury while peeing. He is captured, but fortunately avoids being killed because at the same time the diamond field is bombed and Solomon and his captives are arrested. This is where Archer and Solomon meet. Archer overhears the RUF soldier harassing Solomon about the huge diamond and has himself and Solomon rescued. Archer's friend saves him and he also saves Solomon in an attempt to get the big diamond. Archer is promised half of the proceeds and reunion with his family if he shows Archer the diamond. Solomon refuses to help Archer. At this point, a woman named Maddy, a journalist who is writing a story about conflict diamonds, is introduced to Solomon. Solomon agrees to lead them to the diamond with Maddy's help, exposing the world to the terror of the blood diamonds. They return to the diamond camp where they are able to recover... half the paper... It's easy to trust labels and outward appearances. I see it with the green washing marketing strategies employed by so many companies these days. NGOs are also becoming more and more like a corporate model rather than that of a traditional NGO. A fraction of my donation actually goes to foreign aid with some companies. It is important to choose companies and NGOs that are transparent in their operations. Transparency allows consumers to make informed decisions. It was interesting coming into this course with an environmental background because I didn't think I could relate to this course so much. Community development is largely environmental and social. I am a more informed consumer based on my experiences this semester. It's exciting and scary to see the world in this perspective, but I feel like I've grown from the knowledge I've gained in this course.