I didn’t go to see the movie Blood Diamond when it was in theaters because I knew it would probably make me cry. And I was right. I rented it the other night, and sure enough, while the movie brought back many memories of the little things I’ve forgotten about my own time in Africa, it also broke my heart.
I only spent 6 months in Africa, just over 4 of them in South Africa (running a bar at a Backpackers Hostel, and volunteering at acouple of schools 2 days a week), and almost 2 months traveling up the coast to Swaziland and Mozambique. While I didn’t see any villages get burned out, or slaughtered, I did see a few diamond mines while in SA, and and a lot of armed soldiers. I also saw what sort of shape a country was in after a civil war. There are many things I could say about the country, but right now, I just want to remember the little things that made it special.
Like the fact that the movie did get it right. Most of the people I met there cared only more about their family than any amount of money. Maybe it was just because I was lucky enough to spend most of my time away fromthe bigger cities, on the coast. There was a small city that was completely modern in every way, and not far out of the city, were townships and farm schools and country clubs.
I keep telling myself that some day I’ll write about my time there, but I haven’t done it yet, and I’m not truly sure why. I have started to put some of my photos into the Ablums on my Photo Page.
If you want to check some of them out…Click Here to go straight tot he Africa Album
I saw the movie the other night…and it’s not something I’ll watch again. It was SO disturbing. Three cheers to the makers, though, for bringing the horror into the light and making people aware.
I have yet to see that movie because I just can’t take depressing anymore and I know it’s going to be. I’m glad you have good memories to buffer the knowledge of what goes on there. Hell, the whole world is one big pot of violence and beauty, of greed and love, of selfishness and bravery…I don’t think we can ever untangle the conflicting aspects that go into making up our human-ness.
Hugs,
Yasmine
It got to me on several levels and made me cry. The child soldiers, the diamond slaves, just the idea of being afraid every moment of the day and not being able to protect your family – it just left me shaken. But that’s the mark of a great movie I think.
It is a great movie. Not in the “entertainment” way, but a fabulous story, well done. The hardest thing about it, is knowing that while that exact story isn’t true, the way the political climate is portrayed, and the smugglers, and the corruptness,…all of that is very true.
I picked it up the other day. I love both Djimon and Leonardo… But I’m with Yasmin, I don’t know if I can take depressing things.
I saw Blood Diamond in the theatre and it was very emotional,knowing it had truth in it makes me hurt more just thinking about it.I hope you someday do write about your experience Sasha.
Hugs, Danette
I saw it in the theatre, and it was one of those movies where you couldn’t relax because you didn’t know what was going to happen next. It was tragic, and uncomfortable, and watching families being separated was awful, and seeing what happened to those boys. It was very powerful, and makes me very sad to know that it’s based on true events.
I loved it even though yes it was disturbing–I knew what I was getting into before i watched it though. My child OTOH didn’t so it was quite an educational lesson for him (between the movie and my world history lesson)