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Written in ENTERTAINMENT the
Twenty-five years ago, the princess Diana of Wales made history by starring in one of the most important moments in his life in the British crown and which served to make visible the situation of countries that have antipersonnel minefields, which are designed to kill or incapacitate their victims.
On January 15, 1997, Lady Di she put aside the jewels and ball gowns and appeared before the world walking in a minefield in Angolawith a protective visor, a bulletproof vest, beige pants, a white shirt and flat shoes.
Paul Heslop, the mining expert from The HALO Trustaccompanied the princess on her walk through the field full of hundreds of red signs that warned of danger, when Diana took a few steps and realized that some photographers who accompanied her had not been able to photograph her, she turned around and did it again.
Fortunately everything went well and later the “People’s Princess” visited survivors of the explosions, many of them children who were maimed by the mines. A girl, Sandra Tigicawho had lost her left leg sat on the princess’s lap.
The images went around the world, grabbing newspaper headlines and sparking a political backlash that changed the world for the better.
unseen legacy
That same year of 1997, the Ottawa International Treaty it was signed on December 3 and 4 by 156 countries. With it, disarmament was achieved that prohibited the acquisition, production, storage and use of antipersonnel mines. It entered into force on March 1, 1999.
Unfortunately, Lady Di could not witness this achievement. Three months before the signing of the agreement and seven and a half months after her walk through that field full of mines, the princess lost her life in the car accident she suffered in Paris.
When Diana visited Angola, she was already divorced from the King Charles III, but had a high profile for his charitable acts. Diana arrived in Angola as a goodwill ambassador for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Example to follow
Diana’s sons, William and Harry, learned from their mother’s example and also did altruistic work.
William, who is second in line to the throne, worked as an air ambulance pilot before assuming full-time royal duties. While Harry retraced Diana’s steps in a minefield for The HALO Trust.
“She was an advocate for all those who needed her voice most, whether it was men marginalized as AIDS sufferers in East London, ostracized as lepers in India, or young teenage girls who have lost their leg to a landmine. in Angola,” Harry said in 2017.