The ambulance is awaiting shipment to Sierra Leone, a republic in West Africa, where adequate health care is hard to come by because of internal conflicts stemming from the diamond trade.,”

Lately, Matthias Seisay's landlord has been giving him a hard time about the ambulance sitting idly in Seisay's backyard.

The ambulance is awaiting shipment to Sierra Leone, a republic in West Africa, where adequate health care is hard to come by because of internal conflicts stemming from the diamond trade.

Seisay said he hopes the ambulance will help people who otherwise would have to walk to the hospital. So far, Seisay has raised $1,400 of the $5,000 needed to ship the vehicle.

Seisay, a 2006 Marquette alumnus and refugee of Sierra Leone's civil war, spoke to a crowded room Thursday night in the Alumni Memorial Union Ballrooms about conflict diamonds and the exploitation of child soldiers by rebels who control parts of the diamond trade.

The war technically ended five years ago, but the conflict there has yet to be resolved – a reality Seisay is working to change.

Seisay explained the diamond conflict in straightforward terms that paralleled themes from the 2006 film "Blood Diamond." A screening of the film followed his presentation.

"It's very simple," he said. "The war was over diamonds, and about who controls the territory where they're mined."

Seisay emphasized the control militant rebel groups still exercise over many mining operations. As "Blood Diamond" points out, the illegal diamond trade is a dominant source of the involuntary service of children in armed conflict.

Because of smugglers who export diamonds from neighboring countries like Liberia, the diamond industry may not be completely clean, but the United Nations' Kimberley Process of diamond certification is helping, Seisay said.

"The U.N. got up, and they stopped being such a talk shop," he said. "After many press releases had been issued, in 2000 they finally said, 'We have to put a stop to blood diamonds.' Now they have to be certified by the government."

According to Anna Titulaer, College of Arts & Sciences senior and co-chair of the Marquette Amnesty International chapter, which sponsored the event, consumers should check with jewelers before purchasing gemstones to ensure they are certified conflict-free.

Amnesty International encouraged students to sign petitions asking U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the World Diamond Council to support international diamond tracking and verification systems.

Seisay has also worked to improve living conditions in Sierra Leone as founder and president of Friends Across, Inc., an organization helping former child soldiers and other victims of injustice to reintegrate in communities.

The ambulance in Seisay's yard may be in limbo, but he has already given young people back home 1,250 bikes, 160 computers, school supplies, sports equipment, an X-ray machine and books.

Friends Across also set up a beauty shop in Sierra Leone to help women get a job in a dignified way, according to Seisay. And recently, the organization launched a tailor shop after purchasing a number of sewing machines. These shops provide a way to teach people technical skills and to bring money back into their communities.

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