India, Gujarat: Telephone helpline launched to prevent suicides among diamond workers

LETTER (AsiaNews) – In less than a month, more than 1,600 Indian diamond workers have sought help from a helpline set up to reduce suicide. At least 65 workers have taken their own lives in the past 16 months due to mounting economic hardship in the wake of the industry crisis, said Bhavesh Tank, vice president of the Diamond Workers Union of Gujarat. A crisis that began with the decline in Chinese demand and worsened by the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Gaza.

An industrial hub that employs 1 million workers. The city of Surat in the western Indian state of Gujarat is where 90 percent of the world’s rough diamonds are processed. The industrial hub employs about 1 million workers, but at least 50,000 have been laid off over the past year, Bhavesh Tank said in recent days. Others have taken pay cuts of 20 to 40 percent. “I used to earn 30,000 Indian rupees ($360) a month, but now I earn about 15,000 ($180),” said Hari, a 35-year-old worker.

An economic crisis that has lasted too long. This is the first time in 50 years that a prolonged economic crisis has hit the sector. Until two years ago, China absorbed about a third of India’s polished diamond exports. But the slowdown in the domestic economy, a change in preferences among Chinese consumers (who now prefer gold jewellery) and also a decline in weddings have led to a reduction in demand. In the last quarter, Indian exports fell by 15%, but data released in April for the 2023-24 fiscal year had already shown a 27.5% decline in Indian exports.

A turnover of 1.5 billion dollars. A situation further complicated by the difficulties of importing new rough stones (whose costs are increasingly high) from Russia, and reselling the finished product to one of India’s main trading partners, Israel. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow was the world’s leading producer of rough diamonds. A third of it arrived in Surat through purchases from the Russian government-owned mining company, Alrosa, which later ended up under sanctions. Similarly, before the conflict in the Middle East, diamond trade between Delhi and Tel Aviv represented half of the total trade between the two countries, worth $1.5 billion a year. But already in April 2023, months before the October 7 attack by Hamas that started the war in the Middle East, Indian exports had recorded a decrease of 38.9% compared to the same month in 2022.

A sector in free fall. The consequences of which are being felt by Indian workers. “We launched a suicide helpline on July 15,” explained union vice-president Bhavesh Tank. Those who called “said they were on the verge of ending their lives due to financial hardship. Most have been out of work for the past few months. They are also calling because they are in distress and looking for a job,” he added. Most diamond workers said they were unable to pay rent, their children’s school fees and their debts.

Aid to workers and families. Owners of some of Surat’s biggest companies have announced relief measures: “After examining the financial status of the families who requested assistance, they have been given school fee cheques” worth “Rs 15,000 each,” said one of the leading companies, Dharmanandan Diamonds. While the Diamond Workers Union of Gujarat has distributed food rations to around a hundred families.