1. Africa
2. Capitalism
3. Consumerism
4. Cruelty
5. Environmental destruction
6. Greed
7. Human rights
8. Poverty
9. Racism
10. Violence
11. Visual literacy

Armin Greder has never been one to shy away from political or social commentary in his books. In ‘Diamonds’ he presents, through the eyes of Carolina, the young daughter of a wealthy family the devasting story of blood or conflict diamonds. The story opens with a terse conversation with her mother about her diamond earrings. Discovering the diamonds are from Africa Carolina asks if her African nanny Amina has any diamonds. She is be told abruptly, ‘She doesn’t have any diamonds’.

Except for this conversation and a few words at the end, the book is wordless. The story of the blood or conflict diamonds is told through the child’s horrific nightmare powerfully presented through Greder’s dark and sinister charcoal illustrations. Carolina dreams of Amina doing housework which morphs into visions of her slaving with other Africans in appalling conditions in the diamond mines. The nightmare continues with scenes of armed guards with whips bullying miners in a manner akin to medieval visions of hell. There are gangs of heavily armed men and grasping merchants haggling over diamonds before boarding their private jets and flying away to supply their wealthy clients.

The tale comes full circle as we see diamonds being purchased from these same merchants as a gift for Carolina’s mother and we see Carolina wake frightened to be comforted not by her mother but by Amina who says to the scowling mother, ‘Don’t worry madam. It was only a nightmare’.

Armin Greder’s book is a potent and compelling exposé of the conflict in the diamond trade. It shows the links that bind the rich and poor throughout the world and the middlemen who profit from this deadly trade and fund wars and civil conflict. This, in turn, aids and abets the continuance of this inhumane industry.

The artwork of compressed charcoal on paper is haunting, the faces ugly and frightening. Armin Greder stamps his themes and his ideas clearly and powerfully, and they are what lies at the heart of the nightmare. He explores the relationship between rich and poor and between the powerful and the powerless and the accompanying lack of compassion and acknowledgment or even consideration for human rights.

At the back of the book is an afterword by journalist Francesco Boille about the importance and significance of the themes in Greder’s books. A second afterword from Riccardo Noury explains the devastation that the conflict diamond trade has in Africa and elsewhere.

This is an important book which puts front and centre the impact that the privileged have on the lives of those less fortunate.

1. Allen & Unwin Teachers’ Notes (Primary & Secondary) by Robyn Sheahan-Bright for ‘Diamonds’ by Armin Greder https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/dimo.allenunwin.com/assets/teaching_resource/9781760877040.pdf
2. Kirkus Reviews September 29, 2020. Review of ‘Diamonds’ by Armin Greder https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/armin-greder/diamonds-greder/
3. Reading Time May 6, 2021. Madeleine Crofts reviews ‘Diamonds’ by Armin Greder https://readingtime.com.au/diamonds/
4. South Australian English Teachers Association. Chris Thompson reviews ‘Diamonds’ by Armin Greder https://www.aate.org.au/saeta-content/picture-books/diamonds
5. University Project 2015EDN ‘Diamonds’ by Armin Greder Review (This resource is excellent for visual literacy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_peHipSQ4
6. ReadPlus September 15, 2020. Fran Knight reviews ‘Diamonds’ by Armin Greder https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/diamonds-by-armin-greder
7. Time Magazine [n.d.] ‘Blood diamonds’ by Aryn Baker https://time.com/blood-diamonds/
8. Brilliant Earth ‘Conflict and the diamond trade’ https://www.brilliantearth.com/conflict-diamond-trade/