DATE=1/14/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=GURKHAS OF NEPAL
NUMBER=5-45242
BYLINE=LUCINDA GORRINGE
DATELINE=KATMANDU
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Nepali soldiers proved their courage in battle
to the British Army more than two hundred years ago.
Over the years, these soldiers became known as the
legendary Gurkhas, an elite fighting force that has
served with distinction. There have been 30 thousand
Gurkha soldiers from Nepal working on behalf of the
British. Now, there are 3-thousand in active service.
A bilateral agreement between India and Britain drawn
up over fifty years ago restricts the basic rates of
pay and pension rights for Gurkhas. However the
British Government has agreed (eds: December 23, 1999)
to double pension payments to retired Gurkhas.
Lucinda Gorringe has been in Katmandu to talk to some
ex-Gurkhas and their families.
TEXT: /// forest sounds ///
Nepal's beautiful landscape could fool an outsider
into believing life is somehow ideal, with small
villages set high atop terraced hills. However, the
reality of everyday life for most Nepalese is rather
different. Life in the mountains can be difficult. The
land is often unsuitable for cultivation. Many young
men have escaped a life of poverty by enlisting in the
Gurkhas and living and working abroad.
However, many retired Gurkhas have ended up returning
to that poverty, their pensions not sustaining them or
their families. There is however some confusion, some
Gurkhas return and appear to have earned small
fortunes. These ex-soldiers have sought additional
employment in Brunei, Singapore or Hong Kong. They
work as security guards and are well paid by the
country's respective Governments.
Yuboraj Sangroula is a lawyer, he explains more.
/// Yuboraj act ///
These people working for five or six years earn a lot
of money, and then come back to Nepal, so this is an
issue: when we see in Katmandu, beautiful buildings of
Gurkhas, people have the wrong perception that these
Gurkhas earn a lot of money and their living standing
is definitely better than all the ordinary people in
Nepal. But it's not like that, the people, ex-gurkhas
who stay in Katmandu have returned from somewhere like
Brunei, doing some service, after they've retired from
the British army. I think they have earned everything
after their return from the British army, when they
retire they have nothing at all.
/// act ends ///
Demonstrations last year increased the pressure on the
British Government to make changes to pension
payments. In late December, Britain agreed to double
Gurkha payments. But despite the increases, many
Gurkhas feel the amount is insufficient. Ratan Rai's
husband recently retired from the gurkhas, and found
he could not support his family, he has gone to work
abroad. Ratan is left alone again with two children.
///Ratan act in Nepali, establish then fade///
She explains her husband had to go back to Hong Kong.
She says life is horrible and difficult alone. She is
upset that her husband worked for so long and still
when he retired did not have enough money. She says
she thinks if they were given a proper pension he
would be still be in Nepal, with his family.
With the change in the pension law, Ratan may get her
wish.
It is still considered a great honor to become a
Gurkha. Chaterman Rai enlisted when he was 16 years
old, and he recalls how proud he was.
/// Chaterman act in Nepali, establish and fade ///
He said he did not have enough money and their land
was not good, and he heard that a young man like him
could earn a lot of money as a Gurkha, but he found
that he could not.
Many former Gurkhas like Chaterman Rai have found that
even basic daily necessities are unaffordable.
/// Chatterman act in Nepali establish and
fade///
He says after risking his life as a Gurkhas and
working so hard, even in Nepal the retirement money he
receives is not nearly enough. He says he is really
suffering and he hopes the government will give him
provide financial support.
Chatterman Rai now sells eggs for a meager living. He
stays in a temporary plastic shelter beside a foul-
smelling river. Many former Gurkhas are living on the
support provided by charities. Some feel that they
have been used by their government as diplomatic
pawns.
The men who enlisted as Gurkhas after 1997 are now on
a par for a retirement income with their British
counterparts. Although falling short of demands from
Gurkhas for the same pension benefits as British
soldiers, the increases will help to make life more
comfortable for those who served for the British army
over the last century. (Signed)
NEB/LG/GE
14-Jan-2000 05:41 AM EDT (14-Jan-2000 1041 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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