Angry Gurkhas march for justice

When 16-year-old Bal Bahadur Tamang ran away from the hills to join the British Indian Army in 1938 he couldn't have dreamed of the legacy he would have to show for his service career. Standing in the manicured grounds of a Gurkha Welfare Centre in Dharan, eastern Nepal, nearly 60 years later, the retired officer points to the positions of four bullet wounds, gestures to the row of ribbons pinned to his regimental green blazer - a Military Medal and an MBE among them - and talks animatedly about the times he met the Queen and marched in victory parades through London. He becomes more serious as he outlines operations in Malaya, Java and Borneo, remembers the friends who died and the enemies he killed. The Honourable Captain (GCO) Bal is a proud and respected man in this town and lives in a sprawling house with his wife; he has three sons and six grandchildren. He was, he says, honoured to have been a Gurkha, to have served the British and is 'grateful' for the monthly 6,000 Nepalese rupees (HK$820) pension he receives. Not all ex-Gurkhas are so fortunate. Down a muddy road in a less prosperous part of Dharan, Ram Bahadur Rai, 49, is expecting us but, unlike Bal, he hasn't dressed for the occasion. Soon after his homecoming, Ram lost both legs in a farming accident in the hills and is confined to a wheelchair. He served in Hong Kong, Malaya and Brunei during his nine years as a sapper in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers and is well aware of the poverty he lives in. He left the British Army during a round of redundancies in the 1960s and, though he says he received a payout of GBP360 (HK$4,270), he was not entitled to a pension. The Kadoorie Fund, set up by the philanthropic Hong Kong family, paid 20,000 rupees towards the construction of his home and the Gurkha Welfare Trust, a charity run to help destitute ex-servicemen, bought him a mattress and curtains. In its attempt to 'repay a debt of honour', the part Ministry of Defence-funded trust also provides a small monthly pension of 630 rupees to Ram, as it does to approximately 10,600 pensionless ex-Gurkhas in Nepal. If his wife and 20-year-old son can sell enough firewood, they 'get by', Ram says. Kulbur Limbu, 53, is slightly better off. He retired from the 10th Gurkha Rifles in 1976 with a pension, albeit a tiny one, of 1,700 rupees. Before returning to Nepal, he completed a watch-repair course in the UK and now runs a small business from the home that was built with the help of a 60,000 rupees donation from the Kadoorie Fund. Neither of the former soldiers displays any bitterness towards the British Army or Government. But not all ex-Gurkhas feel the same way. Last week in front of a crowd of more than 250 retired soldiers, journalists and MPs in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, members of the Ex-Gurkha Servicemen's Organisation called for 'justice from the British Government'. In an emotional speech, chairman Padam Bahadur Gurung said: 'We have been and are still discriminated against by our superiors and treated as servants. 'Why is there this discrimination and why do our British counterparts get 10 times as much [pension]?' He called on the Government to take up the matter with Britain and said they would take it to the British courts if Nepal failed to do so. Ex-rifleman Hasta Bahadur Gurung, 49, accused Britain of recruiting thousands of Gurkhas during World War II and sending them back 'barefooted, with just enough money to travel home, without pensions or gratuities'. In a week when the British media has highlighted a fund-raising scheme by the London-based Gurkha Welfare Trust to 'Adopt A Gurkha' for GBP10 (HK$119) a month, such an outcry must have stirred the 240 Gurkhas retiring or being made redundant from the Hong Kong garrison at the end of the year as part of cutbacks across the British Army. They will all receive a lump sum of between GBP8,000 and GBP15,000 depending on rank and length of service, and will be entitled to pensions, again depending on rank and the number of years served. Official figures quote current monthly pensions as ranging from GBP21.89 to GBP39.87 for soldiers and from GBP47.99 to GBP79.16 for officers. 'The rates are increased annually in line with the official inflation rate in Nepal in order to ensure that the real value of the pension is maintained and to provide all British Army Gurkhas with a reasonable level of income and standard of living,' says garrison spokesman Major John Herring. But why are pensions so low? Why do the 'bravest of the brave', soldiers renowned for their loyalty and prowess who for 182 years have been fighting with the British, receive so much less than their British counterparts? Pay and pensions received by ex-British Army Gurkhas are governed by the 1947 Tripartite Agreement, which was signed by the governments of the United Kingdom, India and Nepal. Under the agreement, pension and pay provision for British Gurkha personnel is broadly linked to the rates paid to Indian Army Gurkhas. There are around 10 times as many Gurkhas serving in the Indian Army as the British, which has a current strength of approximately 3,000 men. While the men are serving in the British Army, their pay is boosted by local overseas allowances that put their salaries on a par with British soldiers. 'The aim of the linkage was to ensure that recruiting in the India Army was not adversely affected by over-generous conditions in the British Army for Gurkhas and vice-versa,' said Major Herring. At the time, considerably more Gurkhas were recruited to the British Army. 'In addition, the Nepalese Government remains sensitive to the inflationary pressure which might be caused by too generous a pension provision.' After tourism, Gurkhas' salaries, pensions and related services are the second largest earner of foreign currency in what is the fourth poorest country in the world. 'Any change to the level of pension provision would need to be agreed by the governments of Britain, India and Nepal,' Major Herring said. Unconfirmed reports this weekend suggest a rise of 15 per cent has been approved by the Treasury for this year's pension increase, almost double the official Nepal inflation rate of 8.2 per cent. And a timely review of the terms and conditions of service of Gurkha soldiers is currently being carried out by the MOD. There are approximately 50,000 ex-British Gurkhas, with 24,874 receiving pensions. The remainder fall into two categories: those who left without completing the 15 years' service required to qualify for a pension (they received a small resettlement grant) and approximately 7,000, like Ram, who were made redundant in the 1960s and received what the Army describes as a 'comprehensive redundancy package'. 'Unfortunately, some of these Gurkhas have become destitute after leaving the service because they have been unable to find employment in Nepal, and therefore require welfare support,' says Major Herring. In Kathmandu, Captain Duncan Warne admits: 'We'd like to pay soldiers larger pensions but we all know there's a finite pot of gold and we can't keep encroaching on that. 'The whole idea is that they get paid so well during their service that they must make significant savings during their service so that when they get back to Nepal they have a house built and significant savings to get their children through school and to pay for their health care in later life. 'All of our recruits and soldiers get paid significantly more than any person in Nepal apart from anyone who has a private business. They are paid more than the prime minister.' If the 15 per cent pension rise is confirmed, it may go a little way to appease the members of the Ex-Gurkha Servicemen's Organisation, but what future can the men of Hong Kong-based 1 Royal Gurkha Regiment, the 67 Independent Gurkha Field Squadron, the Queen's Gurkha Signals and others look forward to when they return to Nepal, as most will? As Resettlement Officer in Hong Kong, it is Major Stuart Thornborough's job to prepare the men for their future. 'What most men are concerned with is the need to continue providing their children with a good education and to prepare for their old age,' he says. All men, whether retiring or being made redundant, are offered four-week resettlement training courses in Nepal. 'The essence is to teach them an artisan skill so they are one peg up from their civilian Nepalese counterparts.' Learning to drive is one of the most popular courses. The reality is that few men wish to return to Nepal, where unemployment is high, salaries devastatingly low and the standard of living not what they and their families have become used to. 'In resettlement terms a key issue is to give them attachment training here in Hong Kong to prepare them for civilian life, particularly if they are to work here or in the Middle East. 'Since 1992 we have run a series of attachment courses.' They have included job familiarisation with organisations like Grand Hyatt and Securair. Many Gurkhas are now employed by Jardine Securicor Gurkha Services. Others go to sea as security officers. But one former warrant officer, now retired and living in the western Nepalese town of Pokhara, says he would not encourage his son to join the British Army. 'Gurkhas don't know how to survive when they return. They have become used to sophisticated city life and having money in their pockets. 'Things work differently in Nepal. Men may have skills but many of them expect too much money. People here cannot afford to pay them. 'I enjoyed being in the Army. I have no regrets. I travelled and learned a lot. Joining up was a tradition in my family. My grandfather was in Burma, my father in World War II. 'My father did not encourage me but I joined up anyway. 'Most young men want to be Gurkhas. It's still the best job you can have. But few men prepare well enough for their return. 'How do you think a poor hill boy would react went he arrived in Hong Kong as they used to for basic training and found himself in Wan Chai with money in his pockets? 'By the time they start thinking about saving for retirement or have redundancy thrust upon them it is often too late to save.' Throughout Nepal, you can often spot an ex-Gurkha. The men are better dressed and better built than others. Bishnu Gurung, 36, is the manager of the Hotel Avocado in the tourist spot of Lake Side, Pokhara. He left the 6th Gurkha Rifles a few years ago and still wears an expensive watch and leather jacket. He also rents the popular Fewa Park Restaurant, where each night a cultural show is performed. 'I used to rent the hotel, too, but the lease ran out and I can no longer afford it so I have been managing it for five months. 'Time will tell how successful it will be. We are dependent on tourists. 'If they don't come I will have to try to get a job. 'Some of my friends are overseas but many are at home doing nothing. Their only income is their 1,700 rupees pension, but they are spending nearer 10,000 rupees.' Hopefully, the tourists keep coming.