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| Bushman child, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© 2004 Stephen Corry/Survival |
In a dramatic new development, Somalian supermodel Iman has quit as the
public 'face' of De Beers.
The announcement comes two years after Survival International began targeting
Iman to halt her involvement with the multi-national diamond company. De Beers
controls diamond mining in Botswana, and the diamond deposits on the Bushmen's
land are believed by many to be behind the government's decision to evict the
Bushmen from their ancestral land and place them in bleak relocation
centres.
In an interview with the British magazine Radio Times last month, Iman said
of the relocations, 'it was clear that the Bushmen were being destroyed – you take people from their element and you end up with Aids, drugs and alcohol
in the guise of advancement.'
Sources close to the supermodel recently confirmed to Survival International
that Iman's contract with De Beers would be ending. The Director of Survival,
Stephen Corry, said today, 'We are thrilled about this new development.
We have been campaigning solidly around this issue for years, and are very
pleased that Iman will no longer be representing De Beers.'
For further information, please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International
on (020) 7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org
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