The Mazzel Ritual Dina Siegel

The Mazzel Ritual

Culture, Customs and Crime in the Diamond Trade

123 Dina Siegel University of Utrecht Willem Pompe Institute Janskerkhof 16 3512 BM Utrecht [email protected]

ISBN 978-0-387-95959-7 e-ISBN 978-0-387-95960-3 DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-95960-3 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009930377

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights.

Printed on acid-free paper

Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) To Emanuel Marx Preface

The academic study of diamonds is as multifaceted as the precious stones them- selves. Mineralogists and geographers have written about them, as have historians and economists and students of art and fashion. They each shine their light on a different aspect of this source of luminous radiance. But who would venture to describe the entire complicated worldwide system starting in the diamond mines of Africa and ending with the consumers of Western metropolises? Social scientists? To them, the world of diamonds has remained a mysterious arena. The diamond trade has always been especially difficult to approach, closed and secretive. Dina Siegel is a cultural anthropologist who practices her discipline in the field of criminology. With this study, she simultaneously goes beyond two professional roles. As an anthropologist, she might be expected to confine herself to developing countries, ethnic minorities, or small and clearly defined communities. As indeed she does in her field work among the Jewish diamond dealers of Antwerp. Who could do so better than an ethnographer with no fewer than four relevant languages at her command, Russian, English, Dutch, and Hebrew? The topic of her study, however, exceeds this level. The diamond trade, in the words of Charles Tilly, is asystemof‘trust networks’, extending all across the globe. These networks are included in the analysis. In this sense, this study might be referred to as global ethnography. Criminologists are expected to keep their sights fixed on street crime, white collar crime, organised crime, and the like. Not that various manifestations of these forms of crime do not emerge involving from diamond dealers or museums, by employees wherever diamonds are cut or polished, or the arrests of transnational smuggling organisations. Siegel goes further though and also studies the role of big business (De Beers) in the formation of cartels, and of nations or their rulers in political crime. This study is thus a good example of a new branch of the criminology tree, that is, global crime. Criminologists usually launch their research on crime in some specific business where one or more scandals have given a certain branch of the economy a bad reputation. Organisational deviance was studied, for example, after court cases and media attention focused on the oil industry, the second-hand car trade, waste dis- posal, or the pharmaceutical industry. The standard questions are: What are the criminogenic factors and what is the opportunity structure for crime in this economic sector?

vii viii Preface

Siegel takes the opposite approach. She uses the logic developed by Moore in the anthropology of law with her theory on semi-autonomous social fields. The main question there is: What rules are followed in this branch? And only then can the question derived from it be: Are there risks of crime here? From Moore’s perspec- tive, there are separate worlds below the state level where participants adhere to their own customs with their own entrance ceremonies, regulation of relationships, and dispute settlement institutions. A social field of this kind is semi-autonomous because everyone there has to remain within the context of the official law of the land. In this case of commerce on a global scale, it is more complicated because the legal systems of any number of countries need to be dealt with. The professional group of diamond dealers consists of ‘middlemen minorities’, Jews and Indians from Gujarat, who have organised their networks all across the globe and need to keep the considerable legal differences in mind. But as all smugglers know, these differences and information about them present all kinds of opportunities for financial profits. First and foremost, the field of the diamond trade is a survival system to protect itself from crime from outside. The secrecy and adherence to traditions are func- tional in fending off all the magpies zooming in on the shiny gems. In this analysis, this would make the diamond trade more an agency of victimology than of crim- inology. In her discourse on the political context diamond dealers have to operate in, Siegel’s description takes an unexpected but essentially classical anthropological turn. After all, how many ethnographers don’t wind up defenders of their people? After the 1998 Global Witness Report, the branch has been the target of criticism from NGOs able to mobilise the United Nations and numerous national governments to introduce international measures against the trade in conflict diamonds or blood diamonds. That has given the entire branch a bad reputation. ‘What is wrong with diamonds anyway?’ Siegel seems to be exclaiming when she describes this tendency as moral panic. The dealers themselves don’t have that much to do with the negli- gible percentage of diamonds that are exchanged by warlords and kleptocrats for arms and luxury goods. What is more, the international measures (Kimberley Cer- tification Scheme) have proved to be ineffective. But the most important argument against the conduct of the NGOs, at any rate the one that works best for me, is the objection that organisations of this kind operate without any democratic legitimacy. This magnificent global ethnography should evoke theoretical as well as political debate.

University of Utrecht Utrecht, The Netherlands Frank Bovenkerk Acknowledgements

It will not be probably such an original confession, but it is true: I love diamonds. I love to look at them, to touch them, to talk about them, to own them, and to wear them. I also love to write about them. Actually I did not want to finish this book: the longer I studied diamonds, the more I admired them, their irresistible beauty, their mystery, their spectacular history. Finishing this study meant cooling down a spe- cial excitement which diamonds awoke in me, or waking up from a beautiful dream, or even losing somebody significant. This book became a part of me, of my own experiences, feelings, expectations, and disappointments. My mind was occupied with diamonds during the research. Writing, rewriting, structuring, re-organising, and brushing up the chapters of this book were similar in my experience to dig- ging, cleaning, cutting, and polishing a rough diamond, in hope that the end product would glitter, shine, and bring joy to other people. I enjoyed studying diamonds and I enjoyed describing and analysing the gathered data. For me it was an intellec- tual and aesthetical trip. Through diamonds I have also learned about bureaucracy, corruption, provocation, cruelty, and passion. I discovered how this small colour- less stone could cause enormous pain, but also plenty of joy, and how it could be connected to war and to love. However, it would be impossible for me to make all these discoveries and actually to write this book without the assistance of many other people. Not all of them liked diamonds, (which is of course incomprehensible to me), but most of them were curious and enthusiastic about my research and helped me a great deal, directly and/or indirectly. My greatest appreciation goes to the many diamantairs, men and women, in dif- ferent countries, who were involved in this study and helped me immensely during my fieldwork. It would be impossible to mention the names of all the diamantairs who assisted me in one way or another during the research. I assured most of them that they would not be identifiable. Therefore I decided not to thank them openly here, but I did it personally. They know how much I am obliged to them. They shared with me the secrets of the diamond business, they introduced me to the mys- tery of the diamond world, they provided me with valuable information, and they sent me e-mails, collected written material, and told me their ideas and doubts about different developments in the diamond trade.

ix x Acknowledgements

I am also grateful to representatives of various governmental, nongovernmental, and commercial organisations and professional diamond institutions. I would like to thank police investigators, gemologists, mineralogists, lawyers, anthropologists, and criminologists, who shared with me their knowledge and expertise on different diamond-related subjects. There are, however, a few individuals whom I would like to mention by name. Frank Bovenkerk is the perfect combination of classic anthropology and cultural criminology. I have learned a lot from him, and his friendship is very important to me. Henk van de Bunt was very interested in this project and I am grateful to him for his helpful advice and suggestions. Thanks to all my colleagues in the Department of Criminology, VU University Amsterdam, for creating a pleasant intellectual environment. I presented some of my ideas, particularly on crime and conflict diamonds, also to my students of criminol- ogy, and I appreciate their enthusiastic response and endless discussions. Often these discussions continued even after the class was dismissed, at my office or through e-mail. The following friends and colleagues were so kind to assist (either in comment- ing, advising, criticising, or providing information) on different parts of this study: Inna Baron, Hans Nelen, Menachem Amir, David de Vries, Joris van Wijk, and Hendrik-Jan Schwencke. The gatherings of the Cultural Criminology Club espe- cially were very inspiring in the last two years. I acknowledge with great respect its members: Frank van Gemert, Janine Jansen, Dirk Korf, Marc Schuilenburg, Damian Zaitch, Tim Boekhout van Solinge, Rene van Swaaningen, and Richard Staring. My conversations with Mike Presdee were very useful for a better understanding of cul- tural criminology and the enormous enthusiasm of Keith Hayward during his visit to the Netherlands was infectious. The late Hans Tennekes once sent me into a wide scientific world with a mission to apply anthropological methods and insights into other disciplines. I hope to continue doing this. My family and especially my sons Yaniv, Eyal, and Itai have always been my inspiration to continue this study. I am grateful to Frances Gilligan for making my Russian-Israeli English more readable and to Welmoed Spahr from Springer for useful comments and suggestions. I almost finished the manuscript and, as usual in my scientific career, I decided to send it ‘for inspection’ to Emanuel Marx. The reaction I received was crucial for the final result: I actually had to rewrite many parts of the manuscript. I do not regret that I did it and that it took me another few months dealing with diamonds. Emanuel, as always, remained my teacher: critical, but very inspiring and encouraging not only in all my scientific, but also in many of my life projects. I will always admire his joie de vivre, his curiosity, originality, sharpness, and softness. This diamond is for him.

Utrecht, The Netherlands Dina Siegel Contents

1 Theory and Research: An Anthropological Journey into the Diamond Industry ...... 1 Multisite Anthropology ...... 2 Access ...... 5 Breaking Taboos About Jews, the Mafia, and Other Dangers ofFieldwork...... 8 Cultural Criminology and Semi-Autonomous Social Fields ...... 11 2 From Marco Polo to the Syndicate: The History of a Multilevel Organisation ...... 15 HistoricalDevelopmentoftheDiamondBusiness...... 16 TheDevelopmentoftheDiamondOrganisationinEurope...... 17 Diamond Pipeline − StructureandOrganisation...... 20 Production Countries − ControlandCriminalisation...... 21 Distribution of Rough Diamonds − Marketing Methods ...... 25 ProcessingCentres...... 29 Banks and Bourses ...... 31 Not Without the Syndicate! ...... 32 Control and Mobility ...... 34 Illegal Activities of De Beers ...... 36 An Old Monopoly in a New World ...... 38 3 The King of Gems: How the Diamond Became the Most Precious Stone ...... 41 Legends and Symbols ...... 42 TheValueofa‘Rare’Stone...... 44 SmugglingforSurvivalandEmigration...... 47 Romantics or Business? Consumerism in Postmodern Times ...... 50 Women and Diamonds ...... 58 Organisation of Preservation of the Value of Diamonds by the Diamond Industry ...... 60 4TheMazzel Ritual: Trust, Loyalty, Risk, and the Culture of the Diamond Trade ...... 63 TheCultureoftheDiamondTrade...... 63

xi xii Contents

TrustandLoyalty...... 64 Noncontractual Agreements ...... 68 RisksforTrust...... 70 TrustandLies...... 71 Semi-Autonomous Legal Field and Community of Ethnic Middlemen...... 72 BusinessDisputesandExtralegalSolutions...... 74 TheCaseofGIA...... 76 5 Jews, Indians, and Arabs: On Diamond Markets and Traders ... 79 CreationofDiamondMarkets...... 79 DiamondMarketofAntwerp...... 80 JewishDiamondDealersofAntwerp...... 80 Historical Background ...... 83 Jewish Antwerp Today ...... 87 JewishDiamondMarket...... 92 IndianDiamondDealersinAntwerp...... 94 TheIndianCommunityandIndianMarketinAntwerp...... 97 The Multiethnic Diamond Market of Antwerp ...... 101 EthnicElections...... 102 TheCaseofIsrael...... 104 The ‘World’s No.1 Exporter’ − Ramat Gan, the Diamond Capital? . . 105 HistoryofDiamantairsinPalestineandIsrael...... 108 IsraelisAreEverywhere...... 110 TheDiamondMarketandCommunityinIsrael...... 111 The Case of Dubai ...... 113 The Indian Community and the Indian Diamond Market of Dubai ...... 115 Jewish Diamond Traders in Dubai? ...... 117 6 Threats to the Industry: Rivals from Within, International Competition, and Synthetic Diamonds ...... 119 The New Cartel? Challenge to De Beers ...... 119 Ole Hadash from Tashkent ...... 120 DeBeersandtheRussian‘Bears’...... 125 TheRussianAdventure...... 126 Argyle, PHB Billiton, and Others ...... 128 Synthetic Diamonds − AnotherRival?...... 129 7 Conflict Diamonds? Not Every Diamond Is a Blood Diamond ... 133 Diamonds as a ‘Public Problem’ and Moral Panic ...... 134 The Role of the NGOs ...... 136 The Escalation of the Problem and the Reaction of the Diamond Industry ...... 139 Kimberley Process Ð The Success Story of the Global Solution for a Local Problem? ...... 141 Contents xiii

Critics and Doubters ...... 143 Diamond Wars or War Against Diamonds and the Diamond Industry? ...... 143 Certificates for All! ...... 145 How to Control the Uncontrollable ...... 146 Impossible Task Ð Determining the Origin of Conflict Diamonds . . 148 Neighbours’ Quarrels Ð The Worries from the Nonconflict African Countries ...... 149 Conflict Diamonds and Leonardo DiCaprio ...... 151 Conflict Diamonds and Terrorism ...... 152 Consequences of the Conflict Diamonds Invention ...... 156 8 Crime Does Pay! The Industry’s Vulnerability to Criminality ... 159 The Criminal Acquisitions of Diamonds ...... 160 SmugglingandCorruptionБWesternInvention’?...... 162 How to Steal a Diamond? ...... 166 Diamonds Crime During Transit ...... 167 Diamond Crime in Processing Centres and in Jewellery Shops . .... 168 9 Diamonds and Mafia: Criminal Networks and Illicit Markets ... 173 The Diamond Robberies in the Twenty-First Century ...... 173 The Millennium Dome ...... 173 The Antwerp ‘Robbery of the Century’ ...... 174 Pink Panthers and the Robbery in Louvre ...... 175 Robbery of the Museon ...... 176 Where Are the Diamonds? ...... 177 ‘Magpie Syndrome’ ...... 179 Diamonds and Organised Crime ...... 179 GeorgianandRussianMafia...... 181 IsraeliandItalianOrganisedCrimeinAntwerp...... 183 WestAfricanCriminalNetworks...... 185 Illicit Markets and Diamonds ...... 187 Diamonds and Drugs ...... 187 Diamonds and Weapons ...... 189 Leonid Minin Ð Women, Guns, and Diamonds ...... 189 VictorBout...... 190 , Fraud, and Tax Evasion ...... 192 Fouad Abbas ...... 193 MartinR.Frankel...... 194 Judge Gross and Genovese Crime Family ...... 195 Technological Prevention ...... 196 Screening of Personnel ...... 197 Private Security ...... 198 Coda ...... 201 Bibliography ...... 205 Index ...... 215 List of Illustrations

2.1. Jewish diamond shop. Bangkok, Thailand 5.1. One of Antwerp’s four diamond exchange bourses. 5.2. Hovenierstraat. Antwerp, Belgium 5.3. Gold and diamond shops. Pelikaanstraat (2003). Antwerp, Belgium 5.4. Pelikaanstraat reconstructed (2008). Antwerp, Belgium 5.5. Virgin marble, imported by Indian diamond traders to Wilrijk for the Jain temple. Belgium. 5.6. Team of Indian workers at the temple construction site. Belgium 5.7. Diamond Exchange building. Ramat Gan, Israel 5.8. Gold and Diamond Park. Dubai, UAE 5.9. Indian gold and diamond market. Abu Dhabi, UAE 6.1. Diamonds of Yakutia. St. Petersburg, Russia

xv List of Abbreviations

AEL Arab League AFF Advanced Fee Fraud AIA Antwerp Indian Association AMAL Afwaij el Muqawamah el-Libaniya (Lebanese Resistance Detachment) BKA Bundenskriminalamt BLSA Business Leadership South Africa CSO Central Selling Organization DCS Diamond Club of Singapore DDC Diamond Dealers Club DMCC Dubai Multi Commodities Centre DPF Diamond Protection Force DTC Diamond Trade Center EGL European Gemological Laboratory FARC Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces) FBDB Federation of Belgian Diamond Bourses GAO General Accounting Office GIA Gemological Institute of America GRU Gosudarstvennoe Razvedivatelnoe Upravlenie (State Intelligence Administration) HRD Hoge Raad voor Diamant (High Council for Diamond) HPHT High Pressure High Temperature IBDA Indo Belge Diamantairs Association IDE Israeli Diamond Exchange IDF Israeli Defence Forces IDT Israeli Diamond Technology IGI International Gemological Institute IsDMA Israeli Diamond Manufacturers Association JSC Jewellers Security Alliance KGB Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti (Committee of State Security) KP Kimberley Process KPCS Kimberley Process Certification Scheme NGO Nongovernmental organization

xvii xviii List of Abbreviations

NYDDC New York Diamond Dealers Club RDB Russian Diamond Bourse RUF Revolutionary United Front TAN Trans Aviation Network UNITA União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) VAT Value Added Tax WDC World Diamond Council WFDB World Federation of Diamond Bourses It’s dark there, but full of diamonds. (Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman) Introduction

In the world of the diamond, a culture of mazzel prevails. Mazzel, from the Hebrew mazal (‘constellation’) means ‘good luck’ or ‘success’ in Yiddish, but the real mean- ing goes deeper. The word is traditionally used to bless a deal between two diamond dealers (diamantairs1) but it also applies to earlier links in the diamond chain: the mines and rivers of Africa, where thousands of diamond diggers work day and night in the hope of fulfilling their dreams. They too are counting on their mazzel, that is, to find a shining stone that will put an end to their hellish existence. Mazzel gets a different meaning when a miner succeeds in hiding a stone in his teeth or his clothes and is able to smuggle it from the mine despite the rigourous control of the diamond company’s security guards with their rifles and specially trained dogs. With enough mazzel he will run with his treasure on bare feet to a village tens of miles away and sell it there. It is also mazzel for a small African dealer or broker to buy cheap, good quality diamonds from the miners and make a small profit without being robbed by a fellow-dealer who had no mazzel that day. Another mazzel is to be able to bribe a customs official into providing legal export certificates for illegal diamonds. For respectable Jewish or Indian diamantairs in Antwerp, there is another dimen- sion of mazzel, which is to receive their cargo without being robbed or being accused of using dodgy certificates and thereby not cooperating with the authorities and NGOs in combating conflict diamonds. It is also mazzel to have reliable clients and partners and to survive in the face of growing competition and unstable political and economic conditions. Finally, it is mazzel to be respected in one’s own community. A different kind of mazzel is that of fortunate parents watching their happy daugh- ter showing everybody her wedding present, a beautiful glittering diamond ring, the symbol of love and happiness, almost similar in its significance to the traditional ‘mazzel tov’ blessing of the Jewish wedding ceremony. All these and many other variations of the old Hebrew/Yiddish word are part of the diamond world with all its traditions and continuously changing forms of culture. This book is about the culture of mazzel in its different aspects and representations.

1The French term for diamond dealers, widely applied in the community of diamond traders.

xxi xxii Introduction

In nature, we find admiration for diamonds not only in human beings but also in animals, including birds. There is a well-known species that cannot resist the attraction of glittering objects: magpies are notorious for being the thieves among the bird families. They will steal everything that glitters, from a piece of glass from a broken mirror or an empty bottle, to bracelets and rings with precious gems left on a windowsill. For as long as we know, diamonds have had a seductive effect on the unthinking magpie as well as on human beings, with the only difference that their attractive power has often had a disastrous effect on the latter. Many people have died in the diamond mines or were killed and robbed along the smuggling routes. Passion and jealousy over diamonds have taken their toll at royal courts all over the world. Diamonds are criminal stones but, for one reason or another, neither anthropologists nor criminologists have done much study on their killing power. One of the purposes of the present study is to challenge the criminal myths about this beautiful stone and to understand why some people cannot resist its magic.

About This Book

In this book, I follow the route of a diamond from the mines of Africa to the shops of Europe as it passes through countless hands and places, and is smuggled, stolen, cut, polished, sold, exchanged, and, finally, worn as jewellery. In the course of this long and exciting journey, a wide range of ‘diamond people’ face all sorts of risks and criminality, as well as various moral and ethical judgements. The journey allows me to describe and analyse some of the possible dangers and threats and to uncover the strategies and tactics to deal with them. In this sense, the following is not so much about diamonds themselves as it is about the people involved in the diamond busi- ness, from garimperos2 to diamantairs. This story of risk, trust, and crime examines the vulnerability of diamond production and distribution to illicit and criminal activ- ities. It also deals with stories of criminals who simply cannot stay away from this expensive and alluring commodity. My aim is to describe a global organisation that has created its own social world, its own legality, its own markets, and its own ways of maintaining the value of its product, while dealing with competitors and collaborating with states and state agen- cies. I also try to analyse how this worldwide organisation deals with the continuous threat of various types of crime. In Chapter 1, I elaborate on my theoretical approach, research methods, and the questions that I set out to answer in this book, including an account of the obsta- cles and taboos I encountered during my research. In Chapter 2, I present historical development of the mechanisms through which the international diamond industry has created its legality and control and has adapted to a rapidly changing environ- ment. In this context, the role of De Beers and the vague distinctions between licit and illicit activities in the diamond industry demand special attention. In Chapter 3,

2Miners, prospector, who work in the diamond area (garimpo). Introduction xxiii

I show how the value of diamonds was created and how it is maintained around the world. My analysis of a unique ‘diamond culture’ follows in Chapter 4, in which I deal with the customs and tradition of the diamond traders and with the pillar of the industry, trust relationships and the role of the community. In Chapter 5 I examine in depth the world of the people involved in this trade and the creation of ‘diamond markets,’ with particular reference to the dealers in Antwerp, Ramat Gan, and Dubai. In Chapter 6, I examine the strategies used by the organisation to deal with its competitors, be it influential individuals such as Lev Levaev, or the growing multinationals in , Russia, and Canada. Chapter 7 deals with the issue of conflict diamonds and the development of the discourse concerning this particular problem. Chapter 8 focuses on the criminal opportunities along the way from the diamond mine to the jewel shop, with reference to cases of smuggling, robbery, and money laundering. In Chapter 9 I examine various criminal activities in the context of organised crime, the development of illicit markets such as drugs and weapons, and terrorist activities. In my concluding chapter I hope to clarify the link between ‘stones of love’ and ‘stones of hate.’ Chapter 1 Theory and Research: An Anthropological Journey into the Diamond Industry

Go out and get your hands dirty in real research. Robert Park1

In 1999, I went to Antwerp with one of my informants and discovered that many Russian and Georgian businessmen were involved in the trade of what they called kameshki (‘stones,’ i.e., gems and diamonds). Between 1998 and 2005, a number of articles were published in Dutch, Belgian, and Israeli newspapers on scandals in the diamond world of Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Ramat Gan, linking diamonds to organised crime (particularly the post-Soviet mafia). Especially after 9/11, sen- sational stories about diamonds fuelling civil wars and sponsoring terrorist groups caught the headlines of the world press. During this period, questions arose concerning the links among the diamond world, organised crime in general, and the involvement of immigrants in particu- lar. What is the role of diamonds in the world’s most violent events and conflicts? Why is it that these beautiful, ‘peaceful’ stones are now demonised? What has led to the criminalisation of all the hard-working people who produce them, from dig- gers in Africa to traders in Europe? Something is wrong here, but what exactly? What makes diamonds such suitable tools for smuggling, money laundering, and fraud? Is it because they are so compact and valuable? Or is it because the De Beers monopoly has succeeded in keeping prices high and thus tempting competitors to enter the arena, without even a hope of displacing De Beers? I have learned that trust has always been, and still is, the basis of the diamond trade. Diamonds worth thousands of can change hands on the basis of a hand- shake alone, with payment taking place much later. There is no signature and no contract; a person’s word is all that matters. Trust between dealers is expressed by a handshake and the Hebrew words Mazzel Tov u’Vracha (Good Luck and Blessing). The origin of this trust lies in close family ties; outsiders almost never get into the circle. When a dealer is unable to settle outstanding debts on time, there will always be someone from his family ready to help or even repay his or her debts. Doing inter- national business on the basis of a handshake is a cultural phenomenon; the modern

1 Cited in Hayward and Young, 2004:262.

D. Siegel, The Mazzel Ritual, DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-95960-3_1, 1 C Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 2 1 Theory and Research diamond industry is based on traditional trust relationships and internal regulation systems. However, in the process of internationalisation of the diamond sector this tradition has become increasingly affected by external factors. In the last few years, a number of criminal groups have taken advantage of the flexible internal rules of the Antwerp diamond sector to commit financial crimes. Can loyalty and trust, the two most important principles of the diamond trade, continue to play their original role? This book, the result of my search for the diamond people, their organisation, their markets, and their culture, attempts to answer these and other questions.

Multisite Anthropology

...researchontransnationalprocessesofteninvolvesmulti-sitedfieldwork. (Eriksen, 2003)

As an anthropologist, I opted for participant observation inside the community of the diamond traders and workers in Antwerp and Ramat Gan as my main research method. There is a range of ethnic groups involved in the diamond world in one way or another: Russian-speaking and Georgian immigrants; Indians in Antwerp, Israel, and Dubai. I spent time with the families of Jewish and Indian diamond traders, lis- tened to their stories, and observed their work. I asked them about their opinions and explanations concerning issues such as criminality, terrorism, and discrimination. In Antwerp, I usually stayed in a small, rather shabby hotel in the diamond area. During the day I observed or interviewed my informants and when possible I partic- ipated in the daily life of the diamond dealers, careful not to interrupt their business. At night, I could hear the quarrels on Pelikaanstraat through my hotel window and on several occasions I witnessed the police arresting one of the shopowners in his shop or on the street. On the other side of the street was the guarded entrance to the official diamond quarter with its multicultural community of ‘registered,’ recog- nised, and respectable diamond dealers, all dressed in dark suits and ties. In other words, my fieldwork in Antwerp took place in two supposedly different worlds, sep- arated spatially as well as in terms of perceptions and images: the official diamond quarter on the one hand, and the pseudo-diamond street near the Antwerp central station. I later realised that these two allegedly separate worlds were not that dif- ferent. I argue in this study that it is no mere coincidence that these two worlds are located side by side. I visited several official diamond offices and clubs, where I memorised or wrote down everything I heard and saw. My informants provided me with details I did not immediately understand or did not pay attention to in the beginning. My Hebrew was of great use in collecting interesting information, because I could often listen in on conversations without being noticed. I would sit around places where diamantairs were negotiating or discussing various subjects and was able to listen and observe for hours without drawing attention to myself or interrupting the course of events. Conversation with shopowners on Pelikaanstraat and their friends in Amsterdam provided me with another important source of information. They told me about their Multisite Anthropology 3 problems in Belgium, their plans, their views on Antwerp, and their take on fellow diamantairs and jewellers. Russian and Hebrew were the dominant languages during these conversations. Unfortunately, I could not follow conversations in Georgian, but in many cases my informants were kind enough to translate what they were talking about. My fieldwork seemed to be going along smoothly. I was doing what anthropolo- gists usually do: spending years in the same place with the same informants, trying to record their life. Since the days of Malinowski and Evans-Pritchard, anthropo- logical research has always consisted of three main components: place, time, and notebook. First, the anthropologist had to prepare for an extended stay in a certain location in order to observe his or her chosen subject. Second, considerable time was necessary not only to establish fruitful relationships, but also to observe and understand the local way of life, the interactions, relationships, and rituals at least through all the seasons of the year, sometimes twice that cycle, or even longer. Third, the notebook (or taperecorder) served as an anthropological tool par excellence to record every possible detail gained from observation or communication. At some point, however, I became aware of the limitations of this time-honoured ethnographic formula. I noticed that many diamantairs were always on the move, travelling around the world, mainly communicating with each other (and me) through the Internet. I felt confused sitting in an Antwerp café or hotel having to wait for my informants to arrive from Tel Aviv, Dubai, or New York and tell me stories from different fields and settings. It turned out that a great deal of interesting information about the world of the diamantairs had to do precisely with their mobil- ity and their contacts in other places and it became clear to me that it was indeed ‘less easy to share the lives of informants for extended periods when the field is multilocal or even non-local, than when one “pitches one’s tent in a savage vil- lage” ’ (Eriksen, 2003:15). I also discovered that a lot of information was available on various Internet sites. I slowly entered ‘the anthropology of online communities’ (Wilson and Peterson, 2002) and became aware of the multisite research method. This method, popular among postmodern anthropologists, is conscious of the fact that ‘multi-site ethnography almost always entails a selection of sites from among those many which could potentially be included’ (Hannerz, 2003:207). Some schol- ars have gone even further in their analysis, claiming that ‘long-term single-sited fieldwork is in many cases, and for different reasons, no longer feasible’ (Eriksen, 2003:13). According to Marcus, a choice must be made between following the peo- ple, or the thing, or the story, or the biography, or the metaphor, or the conflict (1995). I decided to adopt this method for my own research, that is: to follow a diamond along its route and to highlight certain places, people, and stories. Although I was not able to conduct fieldwork in Sierra Leone or Angola per- sonally, I was lucky enough to find written material as well as Internet documents about the diamond people there, based on investigations by different NGOs, govern- mental agencies, and detailed press reports, photo exhibitions, journalists’ accounts, and conversations with immigrants from these countries (legal and illegal) who had come to the Netherlands. In a few cases I was able to contact immigrants who had worked in the diamond sector or knew others (mainly family members) who had 4 1 Theory and Research been likewise employed. I chatted online with some of them and their stories proved to be a useful illustration to the written sources. Although not yet generally accepted as an anthropological method of research, more and more anthropologists admit that, these days, the Internet facilitates online interactions with people who share a common interest. A number of specific web- sites hosted by diamond organisations have been of great use to me. Rapaport.net, for example, which has for years collected, updated, analysed, and responded to news connected with diamonds around the world, has been most valuable to my research. For more than two years I visited this site almost every morning to get the latest information. Unfortunately, I never met or talked with Rapaport face-to- face, but he was probably my best informant, without even being aware of it. In this regard, Eriksen is right in stating that ‘the fact that the field of inquiry is not a physical place can never be an excuse for not doing long-term fieldwork’ (2003:7). In addition to the Rapaport website, I kept track of reports, debates, and news items on other Internet sites, while occasionally chatting with diamantairs online or via e-mail. Although my virtual informants were always available, I did not restrict myself to news and reports from New York or Antwerp. My fieldwork in Antwerp (2002Ð 2003) and Israel (May 2005 and July 2006) was based on intensive contacts with diamond traders. Frequent visits to social events in Antwerp in the company of my informants created unique informal and relaxed relationships which allowed me to conduct fieldwork and ask all the questions I wanted. My visits to Israel and numer- ous face-to-face conversations with diamantairs at the Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan and in Jerusalem contributed much to my understanding of the diamond world and the people involved in it. In Israel, I talked with diamantairs in various settings, ranging from offices to relaxed lunch meetings in the restaurant in the building. I had a conversation with the managing director and his deputy, with Russian and Indian representatives of different companies, and with Israeli diamantairs, who for different reasons had decided to move from Antwerp to Ramat Gan. I also met with Bucharian Jews, relative newcomers in the diamond arena, who proudly told me about their companies. These conversations varied from half an hour to repeated interviews of more than four hours. To be there, in this enormous complex of the diamond world, was in itself an unforgettable experience. I was also invited to visit ‘diamond families,’ descendants of diamantairs who had migrated from Belgium to Israel, as well as a family of diamantairs whose children had decided to break all links with the diamond world. Over coffee, they told me about their hesitations, dis- appointments, and the process that led to their decision. Just as in Amsterdam and Antwerp, I met elderly people in Israel who had smuggled diamonds to survive the Holocaust. Their stories and experiences led me to rethink the theoretical approach towards smuggling in general and smuggling ‘for survival’ in particular. My visit to the (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) was short but intense. I visited the Gold and Diamond Park in Dubai, an important exchange and trade market, and observed the noisy trade among the Indian diamond shopkeepers in Abu Dhabi. Access 5

In addition to participant observation I used other research methods, such as con- tent analysis of various government reports, newspaper articles, and scientific and journalistic literature in Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel, Russia, and other coun- tries. In short, I read everything about diamonds that came my way. Most of the literature was either on the natural qualities of diamonds or about conflicts and wars connected to the diamond industry, including the fascinating history of the diamond cartel, De Beers. I also found a wealth of literature on Jewish involvement in the diamond business and the role of trust and reputation in small and closed com- munities. I discovered that diamonds, apart from being objects of admiration, have also inspired intellectual multidisciplinary research. In addition, I studied crimino- logical literature on organised and organisational crime, criminological theory, and criminal entrepreneurship. Anthropological studies on the backgrounds of different communities in Africa and Asia were also of great use. Last but not least, I realised that multisite anthropological fieldwork also includes a multilevel aspect. ‘[This can] mean different things, such as studying the same set- ting from the perspective of different social groups participating in it, or studying a site at several levels of abstraction from ongoing social process’ (Eriksen, 2003:16). I was able to communicate with cutters and cleavers, as well as with managers and decision makers. I also conducted interviews with representatives of relevant organ- isations and institutions and with police and bank officials, which allowed me to compare their stories and interpretations of various events with those of my other contacts. From a criminological perspective, their views and analysis of a series of high-profile diamond robberies were particularly interesting. At times I thought I detected a hint of admiration when investigators told me about the sophistication of the criminals. Some of them confessed to feeling powerless faced with the crim- inal ‘obsession’ with diamonds. I came across a range of opinions; some people (mostly men) could not even understand why these ‘pieces of glass’ made the world go crazy. The data gathering lasted from March 2002 to September 2008. My study of the diamond world was punctuated by other obligations such as teaching, administrative chores, and various short-term research projects, not to mention my full-time job as a mother of three children. I used every opportunity to think, read, or talk about diamonds. The lines between my private life, my hobbies, my work, and my interest in the diamond world became blurred. Intensive contacts with people in the field caused me to revise concepts and ideas I had always taken for granted, leading to new ideas and theoretical perspectives which I hoped to develop in the process of analysing my material and writing this book.

Access

The way I presented myself and established my first contacts inside the studied community was crucial to my fieldwork. Firstly, language played a vital role in my interaction with my informants. In the Russian-speaking community it would be 6 1 Theory and Research extremely difficult for nonnative speakers to establish relationships, inasmuch as anyone who does not speak Russian is considered an ‘outsider,’ a person not to be trusted. Israeli diamantairs are also much more comfortable communicating with compatriots than with outsiders. My personal background helped me in gaining access to potential informants. I was born in the former Soviet Union and lived in Israel for almost ten years; Russian is my native tongue and Hebrew my second (and favourite) language. Knowing these languages not only made it easy to communicate with informants, but it also enabled me to gather information by just listening to conversations in different settings, espe- cially when my contacts felt relaxed, for instance, at their homes or during informal occasions. Simply listening in to their conversations provided me with unique and useful data which I would probably not have been able to get from a conventional interview. In some cases, the stories I picked up on these occasions contradicted information collected from more formal meetings. It was also important to gain the trust of my informants and to build up my ‘credentials.’ One way to do this was to join the conversation when ‘the Belgians’ (especially the Belgian police force and the political class) were the object of open or veiled criticism, a favourite topic during Motzei Shabbat (Saturday evening) drawing room conversations. Secondly, researchers often find it difficult to introduce the subject of their study in a way their respondents can understand and accept. I told my contacts that I was studying diamond traders in general, without emphasising crime or competition as my main focus. It allowed me to find out what my contacts thought about certain crime-related aspects, the role of crime in their daily experience, and their priorities when they talk about conflict diamonds or the involvement of organised crime. Some of my informants, for example, immediately tried to explain why they considered Russian and Georgian diamond and gold shopowners suspicious or even dangerous. Their explanations were usually based on personal contacts with a specific business- man or businesswoman, either in Antwerp or in their ‘previous life’ in the former Soviet Union or Israel. Others talked about their experiences in Africa, especially in Sierra Leone. In many cases my informants themselves reduced ‘business’ to ‘ille- gal business’ or even to ‘organised crime.’ On one occasion, after a short interview with an Indian diamond dealer, I handed him my visit card, which clearly stated that I worked at a department of criminology. His immediate response was: ‘Why did not you tell me you’re a criminologist? I can tell you much more than I just did.’ Later, outside of his office, he made no attempt to hide his emotions when he told me all about crime and the value of diamonds. I usually presented myself as an academic researcher and writer and made sure that all my respondents were fully aware of the fact that I was doing academic research for a book and that much of our joint activities and conversations would be used as ethnographic material. Sometimes I was asked not to mention specific infor- mation, or treat it as confidential. In such cases I respected their wish. Because the trust of my respondents was of vital importance in building relationships and gath- ering useful information, I always promised discretion. Sometimes I was asked if I worked for the police, the social services, or the tax department. In these cases, I tried to convince my contacts of my purely academic interest. The academic