A cameraman from Styria and an adventurer from Upper Austria spent three weeks in Sierra Leone on the trail of blood diamonds – and even took more risks than on a trip to Afghanistan.
A wrong camera pan – and Markus Raich landed roughly on the ground. When the man from Ausseer wanted to film a modern glass skyscraper in Freetown, the capital of West African Sierra Leone, several men immediately rushed him and dragged him into a dark little room. The memory card was trampled on, and the man from Upper Styria wasn’t treated very well either. What he didn’t know: in addition to the National Bank, the building also houses the main deposit of diamonds for which Sierra Leone is famous – and which brought so much misery and an eleven-year civil war over the “No one wants to talk to white people” Cameraman Raich traveled the country for three weeks with the adventurer Helmut Pichler for a TV documentary on the trail of these “blood diamonds”. An extremely tedious undertaking: “Everyone is locked, nobody wants to talk to white people.” The mines in which the coveted gemstones are dug are isolated. Access for strangers? Undesirable! But Pichler and Raich were able to convince a mine owner in long discussions.Hard work knee-deep in mudAfter an hour-long moped ride and a hike, the area on the edge of the jungle was reached. The Austrians stayed five days and even took part in the search for diamonds. Men, women and children work knee-deep in the mud for a daily wage of three dollars. If they discover a valuable diamond, it does not belong to them, but to the mine owner. Such a gem was found two weeks before Raich arrived. The Ausseer was allowed to briefly hold the rough diamond in his hands. Its value: around one million dollars. “I was very nervous that he wouldn’t fall off me.” A “crime against humanity” But only the dealers become really rich. Via Dubai, the gemstones reach the cutting shops in Antwerp (Belgium) and on to the rich elite all over the world. The two Austrians wanted to show these “crimes against humanity”. Raich was in Afghanistan last year for a similar project with Pichler. Compared to the risky shooting in Sierra Leone, it was like a “birthday trip”, the Styrian sums up. That’s how Raich was released again. Incidentally, he was only released from the chamber in Freetown after half a day. Despite shorts and flip-flops, for a long time people didn’t believe that he was just a harmless cameraman. 500 dollars finally helped with the conviction. “From Gosau to Sierra Leone”: can be seen on Friday, December 30, 2022 at 10.55 a.m. on ServusTV (and also in the ServusTV media library).
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