Diamonds Ain't Forever

Uncertain times for diamond workers in Surat as tariff threatens trade

- Priyanka Tupe

DIVYABEN Makwana had not read about new tariffs on diamonds, gems and jewellery imposed by the United States. Nor had she heard about them on television. What she knew was the loss of her son, 22-year-old Kewalbhai, who died by suicide on June 14. Kewalbhai was under tremendous mental stress due to the loss of his employment as a diamond artisan.

At her modest home in Ranghavdhoot Society, a few kilometres from Katargam, Surat’s bustling diamond hub, Divyaben sat in silence. The old, four-storey building bore fading walls and no lift. Inside her two-room dwelling, a wooden cot took one side of the hall. A shrine decorated with plastic garlands stood nearby. In one corner, colourful festival goods lay unsold. On the wall with peeled pink paint hung Kewalbhai’s solitary photo, staring down from the wall, as if in witness.

She recalled the evening of June 11 when her son consumed poison. Rushed to hospital by her and his younger brother Karmdeep, he died three days later. She had borrowed Rs four lakh for his treatment.

Kewal had worked in a diamond cutting and polishing unit but had been unemployed for four months. He earned between Rs 400 and 600 a day, depending on the work available. Since March, the jobs had dried up, leaving him anxious and under stress.

"He sometimes got work, often was sent back empty-handed. He was also burdened with a loan taken for his sister's wedding and household expenses," said Divyaben, and added, "I try so hard, but I don't get any work. When I go to the market, they send me home; they say there aren't any diamonds, so no work. What should I do, Mummy? I get anxious.' That's what he would tell me. I tried hard to encourage and console him, but he was completely broken within," she said, recalling her son's desperate pleading.

With a few deep breaths, she continued: "From the age of eighteen, he started going to work in the diamond market. His father is unable to work because of prolonged illness."