BLOOD JADE

This is the Pharkant Gyi Hmaw jade mine which in 2000 was still using manual labour to remove mining debris.

This photo from the UKSYU website shows people going through the tailings of a mine in Kachin looking for anything of value. A landslide at the Hmawsizar mine killed at least 20 people. The region has frequent landslides and flooding due to the rivers being clogged by mining debris and deaths are not reported to the outside world.

The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games announced that the design for the medals would include jade from China's Quinghai province to show a part of Chinese culture. The Committee publicly stated that their officially licensed products were made with Quinghai jade not jadeite from Burma but most of the jade products in the market place are made from Burmese jade.

Burmese jadeite is a global business controlled by Burma's military regime. The regime has effectively consolidated military control over the entire gems industry by eliminating small and independent companies from mining and forcing all sales to go through national auctions held by government ministries in Rangoon.

Gems are now Burma's third largest export and provide the Generals with an important source of foreign currency. Much of this cash comes from China and none if any filters down to the Burmese people.

If you're buying overseas, always ask where the gem or jade comes from. We've all heard of 'blood diamonds' and now we can add 'blood jade' to the banned list.