As if we
thought things couldn't get any worse for Africa, now a new wicked trade is
taking hold of the country’s insurgent operations. We have all heard the
stories. Men, women and children forced to work in the diamond mines located
within war zones. Profits from stones go to finance militant insurgencies, buy
weapons and pay off corrupt officials.
Now,
these radical groups are turning to even more evil forms of trafficking. It’s
being called the new blood diamond and people across the globe are in an uproar
over it. Ivory tusks are being sold on the black market for staggering prices.
A kilogram of elephant tusk can be bought for a mere $2,000. That’s nothing
compared to what a rhino horn is going for. According to African affairs at the
National Security Staff of the White House, a kilogram of rhino horn is priced
at $66,000.
Apparently, the demand is coming from the wealthy nations of China and Southeast Asia. Elephant deaths have risen dramatically over the past several years. Increased illegal poaching is driving them even further towards extinction. Wildlife monitoring groups have been recording the astounding developments and warn that if serious action is not taken soon, we could very well see these amazing creatures wiped off the face of the earth.
