![]() And Svetkoff, he's been around for a long time in the industry here."įor days, 60 Minutes II asked about those big men who export millions in sapphires every month and was answered with shrugs. Schaffer reluctantly disclosed what he knows of the two secretive dealers: "Well, from my dealings that I've only, you know, met them once, was.Werner's a Swiss buyer and e's in here buying gems. He even sent a few soldiers down to the sapphire area with strict orders to round up the usual suspects.īut Father Shea called the effort "window-dressing." After all, police haven't touched the really big dealers, guys with names like Svetkoff, and Werner - names only whispered on the streets of Ilakaka. The president said he is going to make sure gem dealers start paying taxes instead of bribes to get their stones out of the country. But I don't think that the government is involved. Ratsiraka admitted corruption is a problem but suggested it really isn't as bad as all that: "I don't think that any people in the government (are) involved - maybe one or two. "In Canada, a lot of that's perceived as heavily illegal, where here it's day-to-day business," said Schaffer. Gem dealers are paying big bribes to government officials but a lot less than they would have to pay in taxes. But we are exploiting foreigners, too."Įveryone is exploiting, but no one is getting exploited, except, of course, the people of Madagascar. But Didier Ratsiraka, the country's president, said the corruption is a two-way street. It seems that a lot of foreigners are getting rich from sapphires in Madagascar, but poverty is as bad as ever. The problem is, the authorities collect only a small fraction of the taxes because most of the sapphires just disappear from Madagascar without a trace. Taxes on all those gemstones could build a lot of roads and schools and hospitals in a poor country. ![]() ![]() The experts estimate Madagascar could ship up to half a billion dollars' worth of sapphires to the world market every year. "It has the potential of bringing a level of prosperity to Madagascar, of answering some of the needs that these young people have," said the priest. But he prays that sapphires will change that way of life for the better. And when the very smallest little contagion comes in and touches their lives, they're going to pass away," said Father Shea.Īccording to Father Shea, death is a way of life in Madagascar. They're certainly not going to get any medicine, medical treatment. "The majority of those little kids are not going to get enough to eat. He sees through the dreams here right into the future of this island nation's children. He left Boston to become a missionary in Madagascar 40 years ago. In his line of work, Father Joseph Shea is armed only with the Bible. What does he carry then? "I carry a shotgun," he said. "In South Africa, where I bought it, it was described as 'a woman's gun.'"Īs for Schaffer, he said he only carries pepper spray unless he is escorting gems. That means people in the sapphire business, like Schaffer and his Israeli partner Dror Morodov, have to know how to take care of themselves.ī>"I do carry a handgun," said Morodov before pulling out a hefty pistol. There's a lot of cash, but you'll have a hard time finding a cop or a court. The diggers sell their stones to small-time buyers, who sell them to bigger buyers, who export them to gem markets in Asia and Europe. Today, you can get just about anything you want in the streets of Ilakaka, and it is all driven by sapphires. A year and a half ago, there was nothing in the area, just a dip in the road. That's why there's so much new construction. Built on a dream of rare stones and riches, more people are coming to this boomtown all the time. Schaffer described the area as "the last frontier," a phrase often used in connection with the Wild West 150 years ago.Īnd if Madagascar is like the Old West, then a town like Ilakaka is Dodge City.
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