Diana's Charity Work and Patronages

[scooter]

Would this not be more accurately in Harry's threads as he is the present royal involved?

 

[anbrida]

A very lovely story told by Diana's chef

http://nypost.com/2007/08/01/dish-on-di/

I’d never done charity work in my life till I met Diana. But having met her and seeing firsthand how she touched people, it inspired me. One day the princess came by and said, “No lunch for me today, Darren, I’m going out.” “Off to a girly lunch?” I asked. And she said, “No, I’m going to see a little boy who’s dying of AIDS.” And I had a lump in my throat, and I said, “Wow. What can you say or do to a little boy like that?” She said, “If by telling him one of my jokes – and you know how bad my jokes are – and if by holding his hand and chatting with him, I could take his mind off the pain for 30 minutes, it will have been worth it to me.”

 

[roseroyal]

I love that story. Made me cry.

 

[anbrida]

Diana's dairy -- her visit to Mother Teresa's hospice in Calcutta

Diana's dairy about her visit to Mother Teresa's hospice in Calcutta

Today something very profound touched my life. I went to Mother Teresa's home in Calcutta and found the direction I've been searching for all these years. The Sisters sang to me on arrival, a deeply spiritual experience and I soared to such great heights in my spirit. The light shone from within these ladies, saints for want of a better word - such love came from their eyes and their touch was full of warmth. I was then taken by Sister Fredericka to the chapel to pray with the Novices and Sisters - they sang the Lord's Prayer and with our shoes off we prayed together on our knees. Next I saw our Mother's love for children, abandoned or just afflicted by nature in some way. Malnutrition and TB was common amongst these little people. I picked up a little boy who was blind and deaf - I hugged him so tightly, hoping he could feel my love and healing coming through.

I gazed at this alarmingly large number of children whom were without parental care but was somewhat reassured by the care the Sisters were showing. After an hour there, I was taken to Mother's hospice for the dying and there was the greatest impact.... Hundreds of beds lined the room with such sick men and women, some crying, some sleeping and some dying - dying with dignity with a "carer" beside them. I knew the individual was so happy to be leaving this place under Mother Teresa's roof - probably the first time in their lives that someone had cared for them. Ironically, at one bed there was a box of chocolates. I was told by the Sisters that the contents were the only piece of food that the 'patients' would allow to pass their lips.

One particular gentleman had to be persuaded to eat his and so I placed it in his mouth myself. He had TB.

What an enlightening experience for me - it felt so right to be there, to be beside these sick people as they prepared to finish their stay on this planet. The emotion running through that hospice was very strong and the effect it had on me was how much I wanted and longed to be a part of all this on a global scale.

I have a deep feeling of a mission to be fulfilled. It has set me apart from others for a long time now. I had my questions answered in Calcutta and I wish that it was possible to put my true feelings on to paper, but they run too deep and would frighten those around me by their intensity.

The Sisters were Angels, such kindness came out of them and I prayed with them yet again upstairs in their chapel. It was all serene and, on reflection, a sacred moment in time. On my return to the UK I am a changed person once again... I've learned a great deal and my energies are restored to even greater strength. I have an enormous amount inside me that I want to share with those who suffer or those who require light in their dark existences.

The power comes from within and having responsibility gives us the power to make changes in our lives...maybe it's time!

 

[Zonk]

Please note that off topic posts have been deleted.

 

[anbrida]

Responding to Landmines: A Modern Tragedy and its Solutions​

Diana, Princess of Wales​

For the mine is a stealthy killer. Long after conflict is ended, its innocent victims die or are wounded singly, in countries of which we hear little. Their lonely fate is never reported ...

Some people chose to interpret my visit as a political statement. But it was not. I am not a political figure. As I said at the time, and I'd like to re-iterate now, my interests are humanitarian. That is why I felt drawn to this human tragedy. This is why I wanted to play down my part in working towards a world-wide ban on these weapons.

I saw the fine work being done by the Red Cross and other agencies to replace lost limbs. But making prostheses is a costly as well as a complicated business. For example; a young child will need several different fittings as it grows older. Sometimes, the severity of the injury makes the fitting of an artificial limb impossible. There are never enough resources to replace all the limbs that are lost.

As the Red Cross have expressed it: "Each victim who survives, will incur lifetime expenses for surgery and prosthetic care totalling between £2,000 and £3,000."

There are said to be around 110 million mines lurking somewhere in the world - and over a third of them are to be found in Africa! Angola is probably more heavily mined than anywhere else, because the war went on for such a long time, and it invaded so much of the country. So that country is going to be infested with mines, and will suffer many more victims. And this brings me to one of the main conclusions I reached after this experience.

Even if the world decided tomorrow to ban these weapons, this terrible legacy of mines already in the earth would continue to plague the poor nations of the Globe. "The evil that men do, lives after them."

And so, it seems to me, there rests a certain obligation upon the rest of us...

If an international ban on mines can be secured it means, looking far ahead, that the world may be a safer place for this generation's grandchildren.

But for this generation in much of the developing world, there will be no relief, no relaxation. The toll of deaths and injuries caused by mines already there, will continue.

Landmine speech on June 12th, 1997.

Responding To Landmines famous speech by Princess Diana

 

[anbrida]

Princess Diana: The Last Crusade By Lord Deedes

She decided to keep out of the minefields on this trip, and instead spent most of time visiting the many victims. Sensibly, she insisted on setting at least 30 minutes for each sojourn. People who have experienced tragedy in their lives need time in which to tell their tale.

Apart from demonstrating her already well-known humanitarian qualities, what did Princess Diana hope to achieve by the Bosnia mission? That is a serious question, to which there is a serious answer.

Much of the world suddenly hopefully towards an international ban on the use of anti-personnel mines. To attribute this to the Princess of Wales would be a mistake. The main thrust behind the movement comes from Canada, where to date 110 nations have joined what is called the Ottawa process.

For victims of anti-personnel mines, past, present and future, a ban will achieve nothing. That is one factor that exercised the Princess Wales. The move towards a ban on mines is mainly a political matter. Raising more support for crippled victims is a humanitarian mission -- and expensive.

A man living off the land who loses a leg has lost his livelihood. Fitting and maintaining an artifical limb costs at least pounds 5,000. A child will require a succession of replacement limbs as it grows. Something is being done towards these needs, but not nearly enough. The trip to Bosnia was designed to focus attention on these problems.

Majesty Magazine 1997 :* Princess Diana's Last Crusade* - Princess Diana Remembered

Three Thank-you Letters Diana wrote on Aug 11, 1997

Diana's letter to Jerry White, co-founder of Landmine Survivors Network, Aug 11, 1997.

"I was so pleased to be able to gain some insight into the issues facing victims and their families.*Their tragic stories are a desperately sad reflection of man's inhumanity to man.*The victims I met and their senselessly inflicted injuries have stiffened my resolve to ensure their needs for care and support are not overlooked in the search for an agreement to outlaw landmines"

Diana's letter to Keneth R. Rutherford, co-founder of LSN, Aug 11, 1997.

"I hope that you felt that all your hard work was worthwhile in raising awareness of the plight of survivors and helping to ensure that they are not forgotten in the framework of negotiations for a ban on anti-personnel landmines. I could not help but be intensely moved by the needless and senseless of the injures of the victims I met and, no less so, by the sensitive care and support they receive from their families. You should be justifiably proud of the wonderful work you are doing to bring hope and a sense of personal values to those who have suffered so much at the hands of these terrible weapons"

Diana's letter to humanitarian campaigner Dilys Cheetham, Aug 11, 1997

Thank you very much for writing to tell me about the wonderful work you are doing by taking aid to the refugee camps around Mostar and in arranging for children to go abroad for prosthesis.

There was not enough time for me to visit the Mostar area whilst I was in Bosnia, but I was able to visit a number of anti-personnel landmine victims and their families. I could not help but be deeply moved by the experience which hardened my resolve to ensure that the world does not forget that those who have been so needlessly maimed by these terrible weapons will need care and support for many years to come"

References:
[1] “Diana 1961-1997: Remembering: Landmines Vow In Her Last Letters; Princess: I’ll fight for ban”, The Mirror, Sep 10, 1997.
[2] Keneth R. Rutherford, “Disarming States: The International Movement to Ban Land-mines”, 2011.
[3] “Diana’s last official letter”, Daily Mail, April 24, 2014.

 

[anbrida]

The Charity Diana Wanted to Setup-- Diana's telephone conversation with Richard Kay on Aug 30, 1997.

"Six hours before the Princess of Wales and the man she loved were killed in a paparazzi car chase, she telephoned me from Paris. She told me she had decided to radically change her life. She was going to complete her obligations to her charities and to the anti-personnel landmines cause and then, around November, would completely withdraw from her formal public life. She was dreaming of being a private person.

"In my view, as someone close to the Princess for almost five years, Dodi Al Fayed was a significant factor in that decision. She was in love with him and, perhaps more important, she believed that he was in love with her and that he believed in her. I cannot say for certain that they would have married but in my view it was likely.

None of this would mean, she explained, an end to the good works that she had become so closely identified with. Dodi Al Fayed's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, had agreed to finance a charity for the victims of mines and, with Dodi's encouragement she also had sketched out the framework of a plan to open hospices for the dying all over the world"

Memories Of Diana - The Diana I Knew - By Richard Kay* - Princess Diana Remembered

July 10, Diana wrote a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Brian Isfeld, whose son, Master Corporal Mark R. Isfeld, was killed on June 21, 1994, while clearing landmines in Croatia.

As a mother myself, I cannot begin to imagine our heartache of having lost your wonderful son, who was obviously so brave and dedicated. I truly believe anyone who undertakes the horrendous task of demining, must indeed be a very special and courageous person.

I am extremely grateful that I have been given the opportunity to help, in some way, to highlight the horror of these dreadful weapons. I have received many, many letters of support from all over the world and with this encouragement, I shall carry on fighting this cause, striving for a worldwide ban and for continued support for the victims, those who care for them and their families and also for those demining land.

Reference: Keneth R. Rutherford, "Disarming States: The International Movement to Ban Landmines", 2011.

 

[anbrida]

A memoirs of Diana's working partner about her Anti-Landmine Campaign.

Landmine Survivors Speak Out -- By Jerry White

Despite all the talk about the human suffering of mine victims, it seems we still have trouble putting our money where our mouth is. What is really being done to help these victims? Very little, I’m afraid. I do not doubt that every person in this audience is horrified and personally moved by the stories of landmine victims*— you’d need a heart of stone not to be. I am also convinced that individuals, NGOs and governments all want to help. But why is it that victim assistance has not moved beyond the rhetorical level?

In June 1997, there was a conference in Brussels, Belgium to review an early draft of the Mine Ban Treaty. It was time to line up who would support which issues for inclusion in the final treaty. LSN and other victim assistance NGOs were shocked to discover that there was not one word on victim assistance in the first draft of the treaty.

In June of 1997, LSN and the Mines Awareness Group (MAG), a demining organization, co-hosted a conference in London, “Responding to Landmines”. It was to address the practical needs of those working in the field, including demining and victim assistance. It was at this conference that Princess Diana had decided to give her first major landmine speech, reflecting on her Angola experience. She shared how deeply she had been affected by her meeting Angolan survivors, particularly the children.

With the Princess’s involvement, the media took notice. Landmines and the devastation they caused were now in the headlines. Diana knew that was her contribution to the cause. She realized better than anyone that the media would closely follow any statement she made or action she took. Early in the summer of 1997, it seemed mine survivors had gained a lifelong ally to help alleviate their suffering.

It was several days after Princess Diana’s death when the Conference commenced in Oslo, Norway to begin drafting the final Mine Ban Treaty for signing in December. Ambassador Jakob Selebi from South Africa became a strong ally to including victim assistance on the agenda, and was president of the core group negotiating the treaty. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was also very supportive of including mine victim assistance in the treaty.

http://mercury.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/114666/ichaptersection_singledocument/8461edac-d626-4862-8c52-d1ad2a9050d6/en/03_Landmine+Survivors+Speak+Out.pdf

 

[US Royal Watcher]

Majesty Magazine 1997 :* Princess Diana's Last Crusade* - Princess Diana Remembered

Three Thank-you Letters Diana wrote on Aug 11, 1997

References:
[1] “Diana 1961-1997: Remembering: Landmines Vow In Her Last Letters; Princess: I’ll fight for ban”, The Mirror, Sep 10, 1997.
[2] Keneth R. Rutherford, “Disarming States: The International Movement to Ban Land-mines”, 2011.
[3] “Diana’s last official letter”, Daily Mail, April 24, 2014.

I agree that Diana was one of several people who requested assistance to the victims of landmines be included in the actual wording of the treaty. To say that she was instrumental in getting the language included is not accurate.

It was not her idea, several NGOs had requested it even before Diana's first photo op on landmines. The language was noncontroversial because none of the signers opposed giving assistance to the victims.

Diana supported NGO efforts to ban landmines and she brought a lot of publicity to the cause, which was great. However, she was not the leader of these efforts. The campaign to ban landmines was active long before Diana was involved. Had she lived, she probably would have raised a lot of money for victims and made a major difference in those victims' lives.

 

[anbrida]

Lord Deedes recalled his conversation with Diana about the coming Oslo Mine ban treaty meeting.

There was a tentative agreement that she’d go on to Oslo, I think, where there was going to be a meeting about an international ban. I was cagey about this, because the ban was political and, of course, the government were giving the armed forces what the armed force wanted, which was landmines, and nobody had proscribed them. We briefly discussed Oslo and I warned her it was political and vaguely agreed to help with the speech that she’d made there. That was going to be in September, I think. And then within ten days she was killed. -- Lord Deedes

Reference:
Rosalind Coward, “Diana: The Portrait”, 30 Aug 2004, pp. 151.

Charles Spencer recalled Diana's last letter to him

"The last letter I got from her was all about landmines. She was very proud of the landmine issue and I think if she had to have a swam song it's a wonderful one to have because it was such an important and meaty issue. Her last letter wasn't about her summer romance or anything, it was about her landmine campaign" -- Charles Spencer

Reference:
Rosalind Coward, “Diana: The Portrait”, 30 Aug 2004, pp. 151.

 

[Thumbahlina]

Charles Spencer recalled Diana's last letter to him



Reference:
Rosalind Coward, “Diana: The Portrait”, 30 Aug 2004, pp. 151.

wow, well, given that, it is one of those things that I remain skeptical of. I do suppose it is possible. Really it could of happened. Personally, right now, if I open my mouth about it, a huge amount of extremely asinine snarky comical drivel is going to fall out of it, about an unrelated topic. As far as Diana is concerned, she's but a memory only the history books can dish out so we can all follow. It is easy to be content, a luxury, one thing she did seem was content so anything contrary seems so odd. Nonetheless.

 

[anbrida]

In Bosnia (Aug 8-10, 1997) Diana had a conversation with a 14-year-old Muslim boy, Malic, who lost most of his leg when he stepped on a mine.

“When she came, I didn’t know who she was , but she was kind and friendly. She talked to me about the accident with the mine and asked what she could do to help. I said I wanted a new leg and to be able to run about and play football again like I did before. She told me I had to be brave and that she would try to help me” – Malic [1].

Poignantly, Diana’s last word to Malic was a promise

“I’ll come back and see you soon. Everything will be OK. You will not be FORGOTTEN” [2].

(I think in the last summer Diana really made a strong determination that the mine victims should not be forgotten by the world. This can be seen from her thank-you notes and conversation with the mine victims. And her action to make Mr Al Fayed Senior agree to set up a charity for the mine victims. No doubt that she would attend the Olso meeting had she not killed that night. )

References:
[1] “Enemies united by love”, Woman’s Day, 4 May 1998.
[2] Rosalind Coward, “Diana: The Portrait”, 30 Aug 2004, pp. 151.

 

[Osipi]

In hindsight we have 20/20 vision and no matter how we look at Diana, the person, I'm of the opinion that no matter how much or how little she did or cared about what she was doing as far as charity work, the fact remains that if she affected just one person to become aware of needed changes or that a situation existed that needs attention, it was all worthwhile. That was her mission.

She did care. She did make a difference. That's what matters. Perhaps some of her iconic status came about for some not too positive reasons but sometimes out of a negative, positive things happen.

 

[anbrida]

Aug 15-20, 1997, Diana went on a holiday with her friend Rosa Monckton. Rosa recalled their conversation on landmine in inquest to Diana and Dodi’s death:

(Rosa was asked whether Diana had talked about her landmine campaign during their final vacation in the hearing of inquest) “Yes, she did, and she said of all the trips, charitable trips, that she had been on, that she was most affected by what she saw in Bosnia and it had actually really made her cry ... What she said was that it was the most frightening thing that she had done. It was the most hideous thing that she had seen; the injuries she had seen were absolutely horrendous and that she wanted very much to do something about it to prevent that sort of thing going on” – Rosa Monckton.

Reference:
“Hearing of Inquest into the Deaths of Diana and Dodi – Rosa Monckton”, 13 Dec 2007 afternoon.

 

[anbrida]

About what Diana wanted for the Mine Ban Treaty, here was what her work partner Jerry White, founder of LSN said

I was scheduled to visit Kensington Palace this Sept. 5 to discuss a message the princess wanted to deliver to the international gathering in Oslo next week to negotiate the first global ban on land mines. She wanted the treaty to include strong language on rehabilitating victims. -- Jerry White

Reference:
Jerry White, “Travels with Diana: A Landmine Survivor’s Tale,” Christian Science Monitor. 3 Sep 1997.

Christina Lamb, a journalist who used to be rather cynical about the whole enterprise, seeing it more as political grandstanding than humanitarian mission on Diana’s part, admitted the Angola visit had ‘wiped out’ all her past cynicism about Diana.

Once, at a hospital in Huambo when the photographers had all flown back to their air conditioned hotels to wire their pictures, I watched Diana, unaware that any journalists were still present, sit and hold the hand of Helena Ussova, a seven year old who’d had her intestines blown to pieces by a mine. For what seemed an age the pair just sat, no words needed. When Diana finally left, the young girl struggled through her pain to ask me if the beautiful lady was an angel. . . .

Reference:
Sarah Bradford, "Diana: Finally, the Complete Story", July 3, 2007.

 

[anbrida]

Found something about Diana's personal donation to her charity in Simone Simmons's book.

So moved was she by the experience and the sight of all those injuries (in Angola) that she wrote out a cheque for 250,000 pounds, drawn against her divorce settlement, and donated it to help treat the landmine victims...Have done her bit, she could have left it there, but Diana wanted to do more. She was upset that so many of the protheses didn't fit, and she thought it was wrong that, after suffering so much, they should have to wear uncomfortable artificial limbs.

Reference: Simone Simmons and Ingrid Seward, “Diana – The Last Word”, 1 July 2005.

 

[anbrida]

It has been well reported that Diana had planned to visit China, though the purpose was not clear.

Just read in a biography of Diana (2004) written by a Chinese. It mentioned that right before her death, she had contacted the Red Cross of Hong Kong to arrange her visit to China to discuss the issue of Landmine with Chinese authority. [1]

I would believe that was Diana's real purpose, because it is obvious that she was very deep in the landmine issue.

In Oct 1997, China launched a two-year long campaign of de-mining at the border between China and Vietnam. This was the largest one of their demining activities in the history. So if Diana did visit China, she would not be disappointed I think. Shortly after her death, the Chinese authority gave a very nice eulogy for her

1997 Sep 2 China's leading People's Daily on Tuesday eulogized Diana as an ''ambassador of peace'' and a ''princess of the people'' and then roundly condemned the Western news media. ''She sympathized with the hardships of ordinary people, undertook charitable works with all her heart and expressed a special concern for society's masses of weak and frail,'' the Communist Party-run paper said in a eulogy.

But what I don't understand is, why Tina Brown would tell a lie on this planned visit of Diana to China.

On June 23, 1997 Diana had a lunch with Tina Brown and Anna Wintour at the Four Seasons restaurant, New York City. They pledged that they would not disclose the contents of their conversation. However, obviously Tina Brown broke her words very soon. In her Sep 6,1997 Newyorker article, Tina Brown wrote a great deal about their conversation over that lunch. Especially, she wrote these:

“I’d really, really like to go to China,” she (Diana) says. “I’m very good at sorting people’s heads out.” She says this straight-facedly, and I note that, like many stars with a gift for self-projection, she is almost wholly devoid of irony. But in her case the therapized phrases point to a quality of driven earnestness. It’s easy to understand how she could throw herself into a public role, and just as easy, sadly, to see why she would bore Prince Charles. [2]

And then in her book "The Diana Chronicles" (2007), Tina Brown wrote these:

An overdose of public adoration had made her almost delusional. She told me over lunch that she thought she could resolve the conflicts of Northern Ireland. “I’m very good at sorting people’s heads out.” [3]

While Tina Brown hadn't changed her demeaning attitude towards Diana's work, she changed the name of the country. That is weird.

References:
[1] "一个真实的戴安娜", 苏菲，2004.
[2] "A WOMAN IN EARNEST", The New Yorker, Tina Brown, Sep 6, 1997.
[3] "The Diana Chronicles", Tina Brown, 2007.

 

[anbrida]

Diana's global hospice network plan Part I

Disclosed in the inquiry of Diana and Dodi's death (2007-2008), shortly after Diana went on the first vacation with Dodi (Aug 1-6 1997), Diana discussed with Dodi a plan to setup a worldwide network of hospices together. And she talked about this on a phone call to her friend Rita Rogers (Aug 1-6 1997). Then on Aug 30 1997, six hours before the crash, Diana talked to Richard Kay this plan again.

"when she was on the boat (Aug 1-6), for example, with Dodi, she rang to ask me what I thought about her and Dodi opening hospices up all around the world, and I said I thought it was a brilliant idea. I always used to say to Diana that if she hadn't been a Princess, she would have been a doctor because she loved anything medical and helping people." -- Rita Rogers's testimony to the inquiry of Diana and Dodi's death [1]

"Six hours before the Princess of Wales and the man she loved were killed in a paparazzi car chase, she telephoned me from Paris. She told me she had decided to radically change her life. She was going to complete her obligations to her charities and to the anti-personnel landmines cause and then, around November, would completely withdraw from her formal public life. She was dreaming of being a private person.

"None of this would mean, she explained, an end to the good works that she had become so closely identified with. Dodi Al Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed, had agreed to finance a charity for the victims of mines and, with Dodi’s encouragement she also had sketched out the framework of a plan to open hospices for the dying all over the world."
-- Richard Kay wrote in his tribute "The Diana I Knew", Daily Mail, Sep 1, 1997 [2]

It is well known that Diana had a profound desire to comfort the dying. And in her diary about her 1992 visit to Mother Teresa's mission in Calcutta, she'd already expressed such a wish to open up hospices globally.

What an enlightening experience for me - it felt so right to be there, to be beside these sick people as they prepared to finish their stay on this planet. The emotion running through that hospice was very strong and the effect it had on me was how much I wanted and longed to be a part of all this on a global scale. [3]

In fact, shortly after her visit to Mother Tereasa's mission in Calcutta in 1992, Diana'd already showed a desire to work in the nun's hospice.

(In Calcutta 1992) Diana had very much wanted to meet Mother Teresa, but the little nun is away in Rome having treatment for a heart condition. As soon as Diana returned to London, however, she flew to Italy and introduced herself to the person she described as 'an amazing woman who is doing God's work here on earth'. She went with a clear objective: her visit to the mission had convinced Diana that the most worthwhile thing to do if she really wanted to help those desolate people was to go to India and devote six months of her life working there. Mother Teresa dismissed the request out of hand. She told Diana that she would not be ready to take on the job until she was at least sixty years old, and said, `I couldn't do what you do -- and you couldn't do what I do.'[4]

Similar wish was also recorded in Andrew Morton's book, "From 1995 onwards she spoke with increasing frequency about setting up a network of hospices around the globe."[5]

There is no doubt Diana's hospices wish was sincere and very serious. I simply consider this as her biggest dream. What surprising is, when she finally decided to carry out her wish, she wanted to do it with Dodi Fayed, a man she knew only a couple of days -- merely several days into their vacation, she'd already started to dicuss this plan with Dodi.


References:
[1] "Hearing of Inquest into the Deaths of Diana and Dodi -- Rita Rogers", 17 Jan 2008 afternoon.
[2] Richard Kay, ``The Diana I Knew", Daily Mail, Sep 1, 1997.
[3] Diana's 1992 Calcutta diary.
[4] Simone Simmons and Ingrid Seward, "Diana -- The Last Word", 1 July 2005.
[5] Andrew Morton, ``Diana: In Pursuit of Love", 2004.

 

[anbrida]

Part II

I don't think Dodi was randomly picked by Diana to carry out this work together. There must be some reason for her to believe Dodi was the right partner.

Shortly before her death, in July/Aug, Diana gave an in-depth interview to French newspaper La Monde, in which she really opened up herself and spoke some very impressive words. One of them is, of course, the famous quote:"Nothing bring my more happeness...it is a goal, from now on, an essential part of my life. It's sort of destiny...". However, there were other very grand words not printed on the paper.

"She knew better what she was doing and what she was good at and she insisted in the interview on the fact that now she wanted to give a lot of love to people and to take care of people all over the world." -- Annick Cojean, the journalist who interviewed Diana, said in a interview by AP associate, Sep 1, 1997.[1]

What I notice is the emphasis on "now" and "from now on". It seems she had made some serious decision about her life at that time. Literally, she said she wanted to take care of people all over the world. If this was her goal, then teaming up with a Muslim would be a much better choice than a Caucasian Christian. Such a high-profile Christian and a Muslim working together to help people all over the world, isn't it a wonderful act of PEACE? From this point of view, Dodi was a natural choice. And the benefit of such union is apparent.

In fact, Diana and Dodi's relationship developed very fast. They started their first vacation on Aug 1st, then by Aug 13rd, Diana already gave Dodi her father's cufflinks, with a letter which read

Darling Dodi,
These cufflinks were the very last gifts that I received from the man I love most in the world - My Father -
They are given to you as I know how much joy it would give him to know they were in such safe & special hands...
Fondest love from Diana. x

During their short vacation, they had also come up with a plan to make a conservation movie about wildlife poaching together, as well as a charity for mine victim financed by Dodi's father. With so many things they were planning to work together, it is ridiculous to say they were not serious.

In his tribute to Diana, Tony Bailr said "people everywhere, not just here in Britain but everywhere, they kept faith with Princess Diana." And then in his 2010 autobiography "A Journey: My Political Life", he mentioned the reason behind this phase.

I used the phrase “kept faith with Princess Diana” for a very particular reason. For some time before her death— and most of all recently, because of the relationship with Dodi— the jackals had been on the prowl...The reason they held off was that her support was deep and quite visceral in its way, and people did keep faith with her. They were not going to let her be sacrificed. I knew that she would want those people to be recognised too.[2]

Tony Blair had a lot of interaction with Diana in her last year; they met at Chequers on July 6, and Diana sent him several letters afterwards. Alastair Compell recalled the following conversation with Tony Blair on the night of her death in his published diary [3].

`She will become an icon straight away. She will live on as an icon.' He felt that it happened as she was fairly close to the height of her appeal. Dodi was probably a step too far for a lot of people. Had she got married, had another child maybe, she'd have started to fall in popularity. But this will confirm her as a real icon...We talked about the last time they met at Chequers and the letters she sent afterwards. She was a real asset, a big part of 'New Britain'. But somehow he knew it was going to end like this, well before her time. [3]

When they talked about Diana, both Tony Blair and Alastair Compell had been as ambiguous as they could--they made comments, but never provided any reason. It's like completing a puzzel, and now I can generally see the picture they have hid behind their words. I think Diana was an Utopian, in a very radical way. I think she wanted to use her own marriage to "make a difference" in this world. It is really crazy.


References:
[1] "USA: WASHINGTON: REACTION TO THE DEATH OF PRINCESS DIANA", AP Archive, 31 Aug 1997.
[2] Tony Blair, "A Journey: My Political Life", 20 Sep 2011.
[3] Alastair Campbell, "The Blair Years: The Alastair campbell Diaries", 20 July, 2011.

 

[anbrida]

Some quotes of Diana about her thought on taking care of the sick and dying

"I feel the power of God working through my fingertips. I feel I have been chosen for this work. I hear a thundering voice from on high telling me to continue to do these good deeds. This sort of work brings me strength, I'm drawn to it and the strength of the patients is incredible. All I want to do is be there with them. I hold their hands, I chat with them ... whatever they need, I give them and they all need to be loved!"

"I don't just go in there and hold hands, you know," she told Jennie. "What I do is sit and talk to them about the meaning of life and death, the meaning of being a victim and how to be positive about something bad that has happened that's what I want to go on doing."

 

[Osipi]

Hi Anbrida. Good to see you back in action here at TRF. I just wanted to let you know that your work that you've taken the time to compile from various sources on the life and times of Diana, Princess of Wales is appreciated. It is quite obvious that you admired her so much.

Many, many times when someone does a search about someone royal, what pops up is various links to threads here at TRF in regards to that royal. That's why I believe that TRF is not only an informative discussion forum but also serves as a vast archive of information that can be found in one place.

Once again, thank you!

 

[Curryong]

Yes, Thankyou Anbrida. I do believe that Diana had a real gift for charity work and for making those she met feel better, not just those who were suffering or ill, either. Her work for land mine clearance will never be forgotten. Diana threw herself into her causes heart and soul and that's what drew people to her IMO. Sincerity shines through always.

 

[royal rob]

Yes, Thankyou Anbrida. I do believe that Diana had a real gift for charity work and for making those she met feel better, not just those who were suffering or ill, either. Her work for land mine clearance will never be forgotten. Diana threw herself into her causes heart and soul and that's what drew people to her IMO. Sincerity shines through always.

Lovely post and so true ?


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[Queen Camilla]

Just read in a biography of Diana (2004) written by a Chinese. It mentioned that right before her death, she had contacted the Red Cross of Hong Kong to arrange her visit to China to discuss the issue of Landmine with Chinese authority.

I would believe that was Diana's real purpose, because it is obvious that she was very deep in the landmine issue.

In Oct 1997, China launched a two-year long campaign of de-mining at the border between China and Vietnam. This was the largest one of their demining activities in the history. So if Diana did visit China, she would not be disappointed I think.

Diana had absolutely no influence on Chinese policy.

Diana joined the landmine campaign in January 1997 at the suggestion of the Red Cross. She was not deeply involved in landmines.

When the Red Cross asked her to join their meetings, IIRC, she attended one and then never attended another one.

Read what she told Richard Kay about her commitment to the landmine compaign posted in the first or second page of this thread.

The clearing of landmines has been going on since the 1970s. Prince Charles swept for landmines in the 1970s while in the navy.

As far as China just a quick search reveals:

In the 1990s, China successfully undertook two major campaigns to clear the landmines in the provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi, removing the threats to the local civilians. This effort helped restore the local environment, rehabilitate victims and ensure the safety of border trade. In the two mine-clearing campaigns of 1992–1994 and 1997–1999, China cleared 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of 830,000 landmines and pieces of UXO along the Chinese-Vietnamese border, and demolished 700 metric tons (772 tons) of old munitions and explosives without committing a single error.

Humanitarian Landmine Action in China and the Role of the NGO by Zhai Dequan (10.2)

From Cambodia

There are three main organizations working to clear landmines in Cambodia: the Cambodia Mine Action Committee (CMAC), the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the Halo Trust. Between 1993 and 1999 the three groups cleared 66,027,761 square meters, or 66 square kilometers. Each year they have been clearing faster than the year before. In 1999, the three groups combined cleared 11,857,920 square meters, with CMAC, the government body that also coordinates all demining, clearing 9,573,821 square meters (NGO forum website).

http://www.seasite.niu.edu/khmer/Ledgerwood/Landmines.htm

From the U.N.
The UN has been actively engaged in addressing the problems posed by landmines since the 1980s. It acted decisively to address the use of weapons having indiscriminate effects when it sponsored the 1980 Inhumane Weapons Convention. In 1996, that Convention was strengthened to include the use of landmines in internal conflicts and to require that all mines be detectable.

http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/demining/

From the Red Cross August 1995

Concern about the effects of certain conventional weapons, particularly landmines, is not new.

https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jmm9.htm

 

[Curryong]

Diana publicised the cause of anti personnel land mine clearance. Photographs of her helping in that way went all round the world. They remain in my memory and I'm sure in the memories of thousands of others. A picture is worth a thousand words, and especially so in this case.

 

[royal rob]

They remain in my memory too along with the one of her shaking hands with a person with aids


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[anbrida]

Diana had absolutely no influence on Chinese policy.

I disagree with you on this point. Yes China, my country, had another demining activities between 1992-1994, but the scale of the one between 1997-1999 was much larger. In addition, different to the 1992-1994, besides just demining, they also made a long (8 hours) documentary about the 1997-1999 demining activity. Why? Of course, for propaganda.

I know our government very well. If you wants to come to discuss some tricky issue with the Chinese government but they don't want to cooperate, they wouldn't even allow you to come to China at all. If they accept your visiting, that means you already half succeed at least.

Diana visiting Red China, it would be a real big news, and would attract a lot of attention on a global scale. Diana might not have the HR title, but she was still a very popular figure, who would attract a lot of eye sights globally. In no way the Chinese government would let her come and then leave disappointingly, because it would cost them a lot of face in the international society. Think about the headline "China let down Diana on landmine", it would be a PR disaster. Either they would not allow her to come at all, or they would try their best to make the meeting succeed.

I actually think the Chinese government wanted to take this chance to show a good side of themselves to the world. Usually, the western media are very reluctant to report any good news about China. But Diana's visit to China was not something they would want to miss. And from the timing of this demining activity, and the fact that they made a propaganda TV document out of it, I think very likely it was intended for the visit of Diana. And in the document, an Chinese official said frankly that, this demining activity was an action China show to the world that we were also very supported the international anti-landmine campaign.

 

[Jacknch]

I am not sure Diana had the capacity to actually change a government's policy on an issue, but she certainly had the capacity to highlight a cause and have it spread through the media around the world.

Of-course, we all knew about the dangers and horrors of landmines years before Diana got involved. But I don't think it was something very much on peoples' minds until it was put on the news when Diana got involved.

 

[anbrida]

Of course, Chinese government would not change their mind and sign the Anti-landmine treaty because of Diana. But demining is not something hard to do. I think the Chinese government was very happy to cooperate on this issue.

For example, right before Prince William visiting of China, the government announced one-year ban on ivory import. It was obviously not a coincidence. It is Chinese government's style to do things like this.