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Agence France-Presse

The deaths of 14 Nepali guards in Afghanistan have highlighted the Himalayan nation’s role as supplier of security forces to the world, an industry fuelled by poverty and built on the centuries-old reputation of its Gurkha troops for courage and loyalty.
While the number of Gurkha soldiers Britain recruits annually in the impoverished nation has fallen in recent years, global demand for Nepalis as private security guards remains high.
Taliban suicide bomber kills 14 Nepalese security guards in Kabul
“Everyone wants a Gurkha to protect their assets – from a billionaire in Hong Kong to private firms in Kabul,” said Mahesh Shrestha, Nepal country manager for British security giant G4S.
“Gurkhas have always been a big craze as far as the market for security [personnel] is concerned,” said Shrestha.
The industry provides lucrative jobs for retired Gurkhas as well as former Nepal army and police staff willing to risk their lives in conflict zones around the world.

Nepalis were first recruited overseas by the British East India Company after the Anglo-Nepali war that ended in 1816.
Impressed by their bravery, the British struck a deal to hire their former foes as soldiers, using Gurkha troops to crush riots in 19th-century India and fight for Britain in the first and second world wars.
Hong Kong's Nepalis bristle at use of flimsy foam to honour Gurkha soldiers
The Gurkhas’ First world war exploits also secured the Himalayan kingdom’s sovereignty via a 1923 treaty between Nepal and Britain.
Famed for their ferocity and skilful use of razor-sharp curved khukhri knives, the Gurkhas have fought in every British conflict for the last two centuries. More than 45,000 have died in action.
Britain stationed more than 9,000 Gurkha troops in Hong Kong before the 1997 handover. Most of the approximately 30,000 Nepalis now living in Hong Kong are related to those early Gurkhas.

They have also enlisted in the Singapore police force and the Indian army, whose former chief of staff Sam Manekshaw is reported to have said: “If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha”.
Today, private security firms seek to trade on that reputation when they advertise their recruitment of Nepalis – including non-Gurkhas – to prospective clients.
Kidnap sparks clamour for bodyguards among rich and famous in Hong Kong
As a result, Nepalis enjoy a virtual monopoly in the private security sector in countries such as Malaysia, where companies are only allowed to hire them or locals as guards.
“Thanks to the Gurkhas’ fame... people think Nepalis are loyal, honest, hardworking men who can survive anywhere and cope with tough conditions,” G4S’s Shrestha said.

The hillside towns the Gurkhas come from are islands of relative prosperity in Nepal thanks to salaries and pensions which are substantially higher than local wages.
Thousands of young men apply to join the British Gurkhas each year, but only around 230 make the final cut. Their tests include a 4.6km race up a steep hill while carrying a basket packed with rocks.
Everyone wants a Gurkha to protect their assets – from a billionaire in Hong Kong to private firms in Kabul
Mahesh Shrestha, Nepal country manager, G4S
The British army now employs around 2,500 Gurkhas, down from an all-time high of 112,000 during Second world war, and many have taken jobs as security guards in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, where 14 Nepalis working for the Canadian embassy were killed in a bomb attack this week.
They are more expensive than Afghan security, but are seen as more reliable and their physical similarity allows them to blend in better than other foreigners.
Why ex-Gurkha Tim I Gurung decided to be a writer of conscience
“Young Nepali males do not really have many options at home and so they seek dangerous jobs overseas... because of their desperation,” said journalist Kunda Dixit.
Nepali migrant workers play a critical role in propping up the country’s economy: their remittances make up about 30 per cent of gross domestic product.
Authorities say some 3,300 Nepalis currently work in Afghanistan as security guards but accurate figures for the total number employed across the world are hard to come by.
Despite the dangers, commentators say the deaths this week will do little to stop other Nepalis from venturing into war zones in desperate pursuit of work, as the country struggles to recover from last year’s massive earthquake.
“It won’t change anything... the economic benefits are too important to give up,” said journalist Dixit.


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Nepal

Gurkhas to guards: Nepalis live dangerously abroad to escape grinding poverty back home

Gurkha policemen guard the 15th Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore. Photo: EPA

Gurkha soldiers in action during a drill in Yuen Long.

TOPSHOT - Afghan policemen look at the site of a suicide attack to have hit a minibus carrying foreign security guards in Kabul on June 20, 2016. A suicide bomber hit a minibus carrying foreign security guards and caused several casualties early on June 20 in Kabul along the main road to the eastern city of Jalalabad, police said. The attacker was on foot, according to police, who refused to give a toll but said there were "multiple casualties" among the bus passengers who were "employees of a foreign compound".The bus was carrying Nepalese guards, according to an AFP cameraman, who also reported more than two dozen ambulances at the scene. / AFP PHOTO / SHAH MARAI

A Gurkha peacekeeper (C) serving with the British army in Afghanistan patrols the outskirts of Kabul July 10, 2005. Little known groups claiming links to al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for bombs blasts in London on July 7, one warning that Denmark and Italy would face similar attacks if they did not withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.

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Security companies around the world hire Nepalis to guard embassies and private offices


Gurkhas to guards: Nepalis live dangerously abroad to escape grinding poverty back home

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Security companies around the world hire Nepalis to guard embassies and private offices

Security companies around the world hire Nepalis to guard embassies and private offices