Yogesh Zanzamera lays out his bed on the floor of the factory where he works and lives, one of about 2 million Indians polishing diamonds in an industry being hit hard by the war in Ukraine.
With the air reeking from the only toilet for 35to 40 people, conditions at workshops such as this in Gujarat state leave workers at risk of lung disease, deteriorating vision and other illnesses.
However, Zanzamera and others like him have other more immediate worries: the faraway war in Europe and the resulting sanctions on Russia, India’s biggest supplier of “rough” gemstones and a long-standing strategic ally.
Photo: AFP
“There are not enough diamonds. Because of that, there is not enough work,” Zanzamera, 44, said at the workshop, situated up some dingy stairs in Surat where he has worked since leaving school at 13.
“The war should end. Everybody’s livelihood depends on the war ending,” he said.
His monthly pay of 20,000 rupees (US$256) is already down 20 to 30 percent, he said.
Yet he is one of the lucky ones — the local trade union estimated that between 30,000 and 50,000 diamond workers in Surat have lost their jobs.
Originally founded as a port city at the mouth of the Tapi River, Surat earned a reputation as the “Diamond City of India” in the 1960s and 1970s.
Now, about 90 percent of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished in the bustling industrial city and elsewhere in the western state of Gujarat.
Traders in Surat’s crowded Mahidharpura market openly trade diamonds worth millions of dollars on the streets each day, carrying the precious gems loose in paper wrappings.
“If it doesn’t go through Surat, a diamond is not a diamond,” Chirag Gems chief executive officer Chirag Patel said.
Russian mining giants such as Alrosa traditionally accounted for more than one-third of India’s rough diamonds, but supply has all but stopped because of Western sanctions.
For Chirag Gems, Russia was even more important, accounting for half the 900 “roughs” that the firm turns into dazzling gems that sell anywhere from US$150 to US$150,000.
Using state-of-the-art scanning and laser-cutting machines, its factory is better than most, with air-conditioning and exhaust systems protecting workers from inhaling dangerous dust.
However, supply has shrunk to one-tenth of what it was in the months since Western sanctions cut Russia off from the SWIFT international payments network in March.
“We are not getting goods from Russia, because the payments system is stuck due to the war,” Patel, 32, said, adding that he is trying to bridge the gap with supplies from South Africa and Ghana.
The June-to-September wedding season in the US is a crucial period for diamond exporters, Patel said.
The US accounted for more than 40 percent of India’s US$24 billion exports of cut and polished diamonds in the financial year to March, data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council showed.
However, along with supply, traders say that demand from the US and Europe, too, has nosedived in the past few months as companies auch as Signet, Tiffany & Co, Chopard and Pandora refuse to buy diamonds sourced from Russia.
Workers like Dipak Prajapati have suffered the consequences. He lost a job last month that paid US$320 per month to support his family of six.
“I called the company to ask when I could resume work, but they said they don’t have any work for me and told me to stay home,” the 37-year-old said. “Sixty percent of the jobs in Surat run on diamonds. Diamonds are the biggest industry in Surat. I don’t know any work other than diamonds.”
His layoff comes close on the heels of COVID-19 shutdowns.
“We didn’t get any salaries for six to eight months. We had to borrow money from all sides to survive and are still paying back those loans,” Prajapati said.
The Gujarat Diamond Workers’ Union has asked Gujarat’s chief minister for a 10 billion rupee relief package for workers who have lost their jobs.
“We told him that if the situation does not improve in the coming days, our workers will be compelled to commit suicide,” union vice president Bhavesh Tank said.
“Surat has given the world so much,” Tank said. “Surat has scrubbed diamonds for the entire world, but our diamond workers are now getting scrubbed.”
“We can only pray to God that the war will end. If the war does not end, we don’t know how bad things will get,” Tank added.
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