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In the footsteps of
Diana
(Filed: 31/08/2001)
AN investment banker and a journalist
have left Britain on the first leg of a 15,000-mile
overland expedition to put landmines back on the news
agenda.
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Christoffer Sjoqvist and Annasofie Flamand
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Annasofie Flamand, 26, and Christoffer
Sjoqvist, 25, hope to visit 25 countries between London
and Shanghai in the next nine months, highlighting the
work of de-mining and aid organisations around the
world.
The expedition, which grew from a casual
chat in a Chelsea wine bar, will take them into
countries recently mined in war or burdened with
landmines buried decades ago in times of previous
conflicts.
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Annasofie Flamand: 'unparalled
opportunity' |
Mr Sjoqvist, who like Ms Flamand was born
in Denmark and educated in Britain, said: “Since the
death of Princess Diana, many landmine organisations
have seen a decrease in funding due to a lack of media
attention. Although the Ottawa mine ban treaty came into
force in 1999, the landmine problems are far from
solved."
Ms Flamand, who founded Middle East
Television in the late nineties, has made documentaries
in areas such as South Lebanon and Iraq has seen the
effects of landmines up close. Mr Sjoqvist, who used to
work for Goldman Sachs in London, was persuaded to give
up his job and join her on the trip after researching
the subject and seeing some disturbing images.
He said: "I saw a picture of a boy in a
hospital bed after he had stepped on a landmine. The
picture was taken only moments after he had been rushed
to hospital. He had the most horrific injuries to his
legs and his groin, but what got to me was the text that
went with the picture which explained that his family
had recently returned to Afghanistan after having fled
the country because of war.
"The boy had not received any awareness
education in the dangers of landmines and had
subsequently stepped on one outside the family’s home.
It went on to explain it had taken the boy eight hours
to die from his wounds.”
The pair have invested more than £25,000
in the trip, buying a Land Rover. They plan to make a
documentary and say that any profits from its sale have
been pledged to various landmine charities. They also
hope to return with drawings by children from
worst-affected areas to sell them at auction.
Aid organisations, including the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent, Handicap
International, the Halo Trust, and the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines have pledged their support.
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Christoffer Sjoqvist: disturbed by
images |
During the course of the expedition, they
will visit the offices of landmine organisations in each
country, interviewing staff along with government
officials, military personnel, militia groups and
victims. The pair hope to return with drawings by
children in mine-affected areas and auction them.
Annasofie said: “The expedition gives us
an unparalleled opportunity to show the full scope of
the problems of landmines, from their impact and
effectiveness in war, through to their debilitating
effect on efforts to rehabilitate communities after
armed conflicts.
“We have received an overwhelmingly
positive response from landmine organisations and
campaigners alike. This indicates to me not just the
desperate need for more funding for de-mining, but the
need for greater awareness that landmines are one of the
biggest human security threats in many countries.”
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