Louise Donovan
A few minutes’ drive from Botswana’s international airport, diamond polishing factories begin flashing past my window.
Outside large buildings surrounded by security gates, there appears to be no sign of life. Step inside, however, and it hums with activity. Thousands of workers, the majority of whom are women, sit shaping gems destined for luxury retailers.
Union representatives had for years been raising concerns about human and workers’ rights violations here. As I talked to more and more women, I began to see why.
Workers described wiping black dust off their faces at the end of shifts or handling corrosive chemicals with bare hands. One woman alleged sexual assault, others sexual harassment. Women also said they were battling low wages, precarious contracts and union-busting.
They work for companies known as sightholders, trusted partners hand-selected by De Beers. In interviews with more than two dozen current and former employees across multiple sightholders, I documented numerous violations of standards that De Beers says are the strictest in the industry.
What often shone through, though, was a sense of disappointment. Gofaone, one of the women in my story, spoke excitedly about the first time she laid eyes on a diamond. An ashy, soil-like smell hung in the air as she pressed words like ‘cut’ and ‘clarity’ to memory.
“I thought wow, I’m literally touching a diamond,” she told me.
Over a decade later, she has little to show for her time – like many of the workers I interviewed. Women said they can afford rent and food but often little else. Many are single mothers and typically the main breadwinners for their extended families.
Botswana is known for its ethical gems, swerving the corruption and conflict that ravaged its equally mineral-rich neighbors Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For this reason, the country’s diamond sector receives little scrutiny, said rights campaigners. “And I could imagine that it’s also very difficult to be a critic of De Beers in Botswana,” one told me.
But polishers have long faced problems, said Letang Rakwadi, a labor relations officer at the Botswana Diamond Workers Union. He described the industry as “rotten” to its core.
After handling precious gems day in, day out for years, women weren’t asking for much; mostly permanent contracts, salaries they can survive on and a safe working environment.
For Gofaone, it’s too late. She’s left the industry and sells homemade street food. She earns less now, but hopes to grow her business. “It makes me happy,” she said. “I don’t want to go back there.”
