( CNN ) -- When international supermodel Naomi Campbell took the witness stand Friday in the trial against Liberia 's former President Charles Taylor , Western media outlets showered unprecedented attention on this largely ignored war crimes trial . But many witnesses besides Campbell have testified since the trial began in January 2008 . Judges have heard accounts of bravery and fortitude by ordinary civilians whose limbs were amputated , who were raped or forced into slavery ; stories of horrifying acts of wickedness by faction commanders and their fighters ; and the unsavory involvement of outsiders , often business opportunists . These business leaders ' willingness to seek profit in diamonds , timber , rubber or weapons on the back of the war is shocking . Yet despite the dramatic and horrifying nature of this testimony , the trial garnered only minimal Western media coverage . That is , until the trial took a surprising twist , with supermodel Naomi Campbell and actress Mia Farrow testifying about a dinner in South Africa that happened nearly 13 years ago . At that dinner , then-newly elected President Charles Taylor allegedly gave the supermodel a parcel of rough diamonds . The judges will ultimately determine what exactly happened that night and how it relates to Taylor 's case . But the Campbell-Farrow-diamond saga might bring public attention to an issue that goes far beyond the celebrities and even the trial itself . The supermodel , perhaps unintentionally , said it best when she described the gift she received at that dinner in South Africa . She called them `` dirty little stones '' unfamiliar to her because she was used to seeing diamonds `` shiny and in a box . '' Campbell 's comment spoke not only of her relative naïvety , but of the troubling nexus between Western economies and some of the world 's worst resource-based conflicts and most corrupt regimes , particularly in Africa . The wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone were perhaps the first and most vivid examples of the new nature of post-Cold War conflicts in Africa . The Liberian civil war and eventually the larger regional war involving four neighboring countries started on December 24 , 1989 , the day that some mark as the end of the Cold War . The old client patronage support system for belligerents quickly evaporated . Commercial entities and transnational organized criminal networks , often overlapping , filled the void , providing weapons and a market for resources that sustained military campaigns conducted by both governments and rebel forces . In Liberia , it was timber , rubber and gold . In Sierra Leone , it was diamonds . But the pattern was evident in other wars as well , whether it was diamonds , oil , timber , or even rare minerals like coltan , used in today 's cell phones . Commentators in the West typically point to the corruption and human rights abuses of African leaders , as if this happens in isolation . But it is a two-way street . In nearly every armed conflict or instance of a highly corrupt regime coupled with some desired resource , a network of outsiders extending from organized criminal networks to reputable financial institutions facilitates and exacerbates some of the world 's worst abuses . This is not simply about a few unsavory businessmen willing to make back-room deals . It is also about major international financial institutions that exercise little due-diligence as they oppose stricter transparency regulations . It 's about major corporations that transact with shell companies representing criminal networks , or that make payments to off-budget bank accounts . In short , it involves the `` see no evil '' approach by some of the world 's largest mineral extraction , oil and financial institutions . For the people of Sierra Leone and Liberia , Naomi Campbell 's association with this whole affair is of little consequence . But it is a cruel reminder of another stark fact : In the years of war that engulfed both countries , not only were thousands of innocent lives lost and people maimed , not only were women and girls raped or made sex slaves , not only were children conscripted to fight , but the people 's resources also were stolen out from under them and never returned . The diamond industry has given almost nothing back to Sierra Leone , despite the critical role diamonds played in the war . The same is true for segments of the timber industry that profited from the deforestation of Liberia during the war . I hope the recent media attention surrounding Naomi Campbell will last beyond fashion critiques of the custom-fitted suit , bouffant hairstyle and high-heeled shoes she wore to court , and chatter of a celebrity feud between her and Mia Farrow . Instead , I hope Campbell 's appearance at court will raise awareness about a truly significant and profound issue -- how some within the affluent economies of the world profit from the world 's worst conflicts and their `` dirty little stones . '' The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Christopher Santora .
Christopher Santora : Naomi Campbell brought attention to Charles Taylor 's war crimes trial . Since 2008 , he writes , judges have heard of rape , amputation , slavery , child soldiers . Big businesses complicit by profiting from timber , diamonds in war zones , he says . Dirty secret is that affluent countries profit from the world 's worst wars , he writes .