The Princess and the Landmine

July 1 st is also Princess Diana's birthday, and is a good time to remember her for the positive uses she used her celebrity status that still remain with us today.

She is first remembered for helping to remove the intense stigma or disease discrimination attached to HIV and AIDS victims. According to Bill Clinton:

“ In 1987, when so many still believed that AIDS could be contracted through casual contact, Princess Diana sat on the sickbed of a man with AIDS and held his hand. She showed the world that people with AIDS deserve no isolation, but compassion and kindness. It helped change world's opinion, and gave hope to people with AIDS.”

Diana also made secret visits to the sick. According to nurses at the Mildmay Hospice in London, she would arrive unannounced with instructions that her visit was to be concealed from the media.

Her further work with the Red Cross brought attention to landmine victims helped initiate some of the current bans. Her interest in landmines was focused on the injuries they create, often to children who play around them. long after a conflict is over. Landmines limit the amount of usable land for agriculture. The cost of safely demining an area is also too much for some countries.

The Ottawa Treaty or the Mine Ban Treaty was championed by Diana. She visited Angola in January 1997, and twice walked through a mine field - to make sure all media present got pictures of her in that area.

This Treaty bans completely all anti-personnel landmines. As of 2007, it has been signed/accessioned by 158 countries. Thirty-seven states, including the People's Republic of China, India, Russia and the United States, are not party to the Convention.

Just prior to her death, in August 1997, she visited Bosnia with the Landmine Survivor's Network ( www.landminesurvivors.org ).

Travelers who intend to go to areas of past conflict should be aware of some very simple rules to avoid blowing off the beaten path.

Ridiculously as it sounds sometimes unexploded ordinance might be sold as souvenirs! If you don t know what something is don t even touch it.

Journalists may find themselves in areas of conflict.

Look for mine field flags in the local language or a skull and crossbones sign.

Fresh mines are often buried in the early morning so don t travel before dawn.

It is suggested to only follow in the tracks of heavy vehicles and not deviate from them.

If you are walking through a field and become aware of a mine don't run but either stop and wait for help or walk in your own footsteps if possible.

Don t even step off of a road to urinate in mine territory!

In Somalia, mines are placed in potholes, while in Rwanda, Burundi, and Zaire; they are placed in off - road tracks.

Common places to find mines in Afghanistan include: unused footpaths, verges of tracks and roadways; vehicle turnaround points; near culverts; along damaged building walls; and inside deserted wells or around wells.

If volunteering with a local demining operation they can also provide you with regional specifics as different military and guerilla groups have different mining patterns.

Defusing mines is difficult business and even experts make mistakes.

Travelers to Angkor Wat in Cambodia may visit the Cambodian Land Mine Museum nea r Siem Reap . A joint Cambodian- Canadian project museum it (www.cambodialandminemuseum.org) highlights the human costs and continues the work that Lady Di brought to the world's attention but is still far from completed. Although land mine treaties have some impact, attention and funding is still needed to locate much of the unexploded ordinances and look after the victims of mines