Walking Through a Minefield in a Bulletproof Vest
Echoes of Princess Diana's 1997 Visit
Prince Harry, the second son of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, visited a landmine clearance site in Angola, Africa. This visit is reminiscent of the actions of his late mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.
On the 17th (local time), the Associated Press reported that the previous day, Prince Harry had visited Angola with the charity organization HALO Trust, which conducts landmine clearance activities in former war zones. Wearing a bulletproof vest, Prince Harry entered a minefield near Cuito Cuanavale in southern Angola. Princess Diana had also visited Angola with the HALO Trust in January 1997. This was seven months before she died in a car accident in Paris, France.
On the 16th (local time), Prince Harry of the United Kingdom was walking at a landmine clearance site in Angola. Photo by AP
At that time, Angola was experiencing a temporary pause in its long civil war. During this period, Princess Diana wore protective gear and walked through a landmine planting area in Angola. Photographs of this scene became a global sensation and played a significant role in rallying support for the Ottawa Treaty, a landmine ban agreement, later that year. In addition, Princess Diana raised awareness about the dangers of landmines through her activities with people living with disabilities caused by landmine explosions.
In January 1997, Princess Diana is walking at a landmine planting site in Angola. Photo by AP Yonhap News
This is not the first time Prince Harry has participated in HALO Trust activities, following in his mother's footsteps. Previously, in 2019, he visited a minefield near the village of Dirico in southeastern Angola, where he wore a face shield and bulletproof vest and walked through the landmine clearance site himself. This area was mined by anti-government forces in 2000, and in 2005, a 13-year-old girl lost her leg there.
Angola experienced a civil war lasting 27 years, from 1975 to 2002. The HALO Trust estimates that about 80,000 residents were killed or injured by landmines during and after the war. Since launching its demining campaign in Angola in 1994, the organization has removed more than 120,000 landmines and over 100,000 other explosive devices. Angola has set a goal of becoming a landmine-free country by 2025 and is actively working toward this objective.
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