7th September 1997

She touched our hearts

By Chamintha Thilakarathna

Westminister House was the centre of attention last week as hundreds of Sri Lankans gathered to pay their last respects to the departed Princess and to share their sorrow with mourners the world over by signing the book of condolence opened by the British High Commission in Colombo.

The usually quiet path leading to Westminister House was crowded with people queueing up to express their sentiments over the untimely death of Princess of Wales. At no point did it seem as if it would shorten. Quite ironically there seemed to be some symbolic significance of a tragic event bringing together nations and people.

"I was surprised by the response and the reaction of Sri Lankans," said the High Commissioner, David Tatham. "There has been a very constant flow, a lot of cards, flowers. She had a magic quality which touched the heart of everyone."

"Although I never had the opportunity of getting to know her personally, she was a great lady and a very compassionate and loving woman. I met her a few times, and was very upset and grieved by the news, as were many others," he added. He also stated that ironically enough he got to know most of the British living in Sri Lanka only when they came to write on the book of condolence.

The High Commission will hold a service in memory of the Princess of Wales, on Tuesday, September 9 at 6 p.m at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour, Bauddhaloka Mawatha and the Ambassador invited the public to attend.

So what prompted people to make their way to Wijerama Mawatha last week and queue up in the hot sun? S.Sharma, housewife from Colombo 3 said she has been following the life of the Princess ever since she can remember and felt she was a genuine and a sincere person. Sharma was born on the same day as the princess and felt she could thus relate to her. " I cried when I heard that she had died," Sharma added.

Livy Wijeymanne, owner of Capital, ‘Savana’ and FM99 said that on behalf of all his employees and the stations he wished to express his sympathy. As President of the Sri Lankan branch of the Commonwealth Society he said, "As a young person who despite many problems was willing and able to devote a lot of time for the needy and the disabled, I respect her. After all, she is the person who established the fight against landmines. It is a pity that such a young person with so much capacity had to die."

The Sunday Times also met the Deputy Mayor of Colombo, Omar Kameel, at Westminister House. He said that her death had created a vacuum that cannot be filled.

" She was a great person and it is a great loss. It is only a few people who can love all equally and receive love in return. She did not go into politics, but she did what had to be done," Tharanga Damandeni, a student of Royal Institute said . Chris Haslan, a British national living in Sri Lanka and working as the first Secretary to the British High Commission was deeply moved and said, " It is sad that the life of the Princess of Wales and the former wife of the future king was cut short."

Among the mourners was well known lawyer, Kumar Ponnambalam. "One does not have to know her to be saddened by her death. Her commitment to her sons and her qualities were quite evident to people all over and her death is a great loss," he said.

Continue to Plus page 5 - A princess’ war against the deadly traps * He too fights to ban landmines

Return to the Plus contents page

Read Letters to the Editor