(IDEX Online) - Thousands of men, women and children in Sierra Leone are being paid as little as $0.65 a day to dig for diamonds.They're employed by "supporters" to seek out gems in opencast mines of the eastern Koidu region, using nothing more than shovels and sieves.Many turn to artisanal diamond mining in desperation, according to an Aljazeera news report, but face exploitation and human rights abuses.They receive a tiny fraction of the value of any diamond they find. One miner, a 26-year-old arts graduate, said a 0.35-ct rough diamond found recently sold for just $2.40. "The wage is very low, but there's nothing else for me to do," he said.Many of the diamonds are believed to be smuggled to Europe through neighboring Liberia and The Gambia.Sierra Leone is ranked as the world's fifth poorest country, with a GNI (gross national income) of just $490 (US is $65,910). An estimated 300,000 people in Sierra Leone work as artisanal miners.Pic shows artisanal diamond miners in Sierra Leone.