BS: Justice for the Gurkhas/Bravest of the Brave

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: skipy
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 03:30 PM

It's more than just criminal!
it's ********* ****** **** ********* **** to say the least.
However there is a way around it, they only need to get a ferry to France & come back in or under a wagon & Hey! presto they can have anything they want & more!
Skipy

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: GUEST,lox
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 03:21 PM

Thanks for dedicating your liives, risking them and even in some cases losing them for us ...

... Thanks for the sacrifice of your Husband/Father ...

... here's some pocket money so you can buy some sweets ... (not very many mind) ...

... we meant in Nepal ... not here ...

... thanks then ... bye ...



It is criminal.

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: GUEST,Catch away, O
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 02:27 PM

Just as a matter of interest, and considering that both Sikhs and Gurkhas (and Scots and Irish, but that's another story) were allowed or encouraged to serve in the armies of the British State and Empire, why wasn't there any similar attempt to get the Zulus roped in as well? Had policy changed between the 1840s and the 1880s, or did they defeat the Brits just TOO convincingly at Isandhlwana?

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: eddie1
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 12:05 PM

I see another thread has appeared re today's activities and someone was looking for this thread - perhaps they can be amalgamated if a friendly elf is nearby.
Don't know if the petition is still up.

Eddie

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Jean(eanjay)
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 11:01 AM

Tribute to the Gurkhas

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 10:49 AM

I've never served in any military capacity (except as a Brownie, but that's another story) but I worked in a Military Museum for a while.

The stories set out in the Regimental Diaries from soldiers who served with Gurkha soldiers defy all descriptions and are far more chilling than any modern day thriller story.

A Brigadier of the Dorset Regiment once confided to myself and my colleagues that he'd rather have a squad of Gurkhas than a whole battalion of regular Army personnel. He was fortunate enough to command one of the Gurkha battalions during WWII and owed his very life to their bravery and skill.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Jean(eanjay)
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 10:34 AM

their reputation as fighters,especially at close quarters,is legendary

Not only brilliant fighters but very loyal as well. Love your post bubblyrat.

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: bubblyrat
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 10:20 AM

As an ex-serviceman, I am naturally biased in favour of the Gurkhas, for whom I have great admiration and respect. They put the fear of God up the Argentinian soldiers during the Falklands War (apparently), and I'm not surprised---their reputation as fighters,especially at close quarters,is legendary. They should all get the same rights as anyone else who has fought for this country , irrespective of when they left the army---Tony Blair is a miserable ,penny-pinching twat,and should be exiled forever. The Gurkhas are far more deserving of our gratitude, in the form of full British citizenship,than 99 percent of the dross we have to put up with in our Labour Party- inspired role as Rectum Mundi. So there !!

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Jean(eanjay)
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 10:19 AM

I've managed to find the Tony Blair murderer petiton thread though! Since I've got a down on him at the moment I thought I'd just pop in a link :)

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Jean(eanjay)
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 10:12 AM

Liz, thanks for that. I missed that thread at the time and when I searched before starting this thread I couldn't find anything. I've googled it and managed to find a site where I got a message from McAfee saying that they had blocked a Trojan! There doesn't seem to be much.

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 09:56 AM

There was a thread earlier this year with a link to a petition. I suspect the closing date has long gone, but basically it was petitioning the government to give proper equal pension rights and the right to live in the UK to members and former members of the Gurkha Regiment.

Look up Gurkha Rights on Google and see what they don't get.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Jean(eanjay)
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 09:21 AM

Tony Blair should have resolved this issue so he goes even further down (a bit like the FTSE) in my estimation.

Subject: RE: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 09:11 AM

I dunno. Why?

Subject: BS: Justice for the Gurkhas
From: Jean(eanjay)
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 09:10 AM

Why do we all in the UK have to put up with the likes of Abu Hamza but the Gurkhas are having to fight for the right to retire here?

My father was in the British army and he had such respect for the Gurkhas; they were brilliant. We owe them.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Peace
Date: 29 Jun 08 - 03:53 PM

Eddie, I went to sign the petition but they accept only 'signatures' from folks in the UK. Good on you, though.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Zen
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 07:26 PM

25003 at least now.

Here's a blue clicky Ex-Gurkha Soldiers Petition

Zen

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Zen
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 07:21 PM

I'm not a military type but will support this petition too.

Zen

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Little Hawk
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 07:02 PM

Righto.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Teribus
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 05:39 PM

For their past and present services LH.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Little Hawk
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 03:06 PM

They are extraordinary warriors without a doubt, and they should be fully honored and rewarded for their past services to the British Empire.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: gnu
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 12:39 PM

Already is.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: alanabit
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 08:26 AM

Thanks eddie 1. There will soon be 25,001 signatures on that petition.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Lox
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 07:25 AM

With you all the way.

Just as any Ghurka would be.

No Ghurka friend or ally would ever let you down

The Ghurkas have never let Britain down.

Yet Britain is letting them down.

Words cannot express how revolting this betrayal is.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 06:15 AM

I've never served in any armed force (except the Brownies and they frowned on actual weaponry), but I researched many war stories when I worked in a military museum, many about the Gurkha exploits. As Teribus says, it's the very least we can do.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: Teribus
Date: 28 Jun 08 - 05:58 AM

Very well said Eddie1, I had the honour to serve alongside the Gurkhas in the Far East and have the greatest respect for them. Undoubtedly among the best in the world.

I agree 100% with you and have always supported the campaign for equal pay, rights and privileges for Gurkha troops and their families. They wear, and have worn, the uniform of the Queen in the service of this country, to welcome them wholeheartedly to our country is the least that we can do to show our gratitude and appreciation. To do otherwise is to demonstrate a meanness of spirit that beggars description.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: eddie1
Date: 27 Jun 08 - 10:38 AM

Thanks for that alanabit. There is a petition at

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Gurkha-soldiers/

Calling on the Government to grant British citizenship to retired Gurkhas. It's not everything but it's a start.
It already has 25,000 signatures

Eddie

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: alanabit
Date: 27 Jun 08 - 10:25 AM

If you know of an online petition, please let us know. I am certainly not the only one here, who agrees with you 100%.

Subject: RE: BS: The Bravest of the Brave
From: eddie1
Date: 27 Jun 08 - 10:02 AM

"The Bravest of the Brave, The Most Generous of the Generous, Never Had a Country More Faithful Friends Than You!" These are the words inscribed on the Gurkha War Memorial in Whitehall.
On Tuesday I, along with some 100 members of the Gurkha community from in and around Reading (UK), was at a meeting of Reading Borough Council who unanimously passed a resolution asking the Government to grant retired Gurkhas the same rights as Commonwealth soldiers. This means the right to live in the UK, the same pension and access to benefits and health care.
The Gurkhas have served this country for over 200 years, taking an oath of allegiance to The Queen and this country. They have won 13 Victoria Crosses and more than 6,500 other decorations and battle honours.
After a lot of pressure, last year the Government extended these rights to members of The Brigade of Gurkhas who retired after 1st July 1997. Why that date? because up to then the Brigade HQ was in Hong Kong and was then moved to England. Not that the move made any difference to Gurkhas serving in the field! Those who retired prior to that date receive a pension of about £100 - £125 per month.
A Gurkha couple in Reading live in a 2-room flat, the rent paid by their son who is serving in the British Army. They had to buy crutches and a wheelchair for the wife who had a leg removed as the result of cancer because she doesn't qualify for help under the NHS. They pay £2 bus fare per day for their daughter to go to school as she doesn't qualify for a bus pass. They get by with the help of street charities and The Royal British Legion.
A group of five retired Gurkhas live together in one room which is all they can afford. They and the couple mentioned earlier have been waiting about two years for a decision on whether they can remain in this country!
Last year, an 82 year-old holder of the VC who was blind and suffered from diabetes, both conditions being brought on by his 20-years military service, was refused admission to the UK because it was not felt that "his ties to this country were not strong enough"!!!!! After a petition attracted thousands of signatures he was allowed admission and now lives in an old folks' home with his only income being his £125 monthly pension!
Reading Council is sending a copy of the resolution to every Local Authority in the UK with the hopes that more will try to bring pressure on the Government to help a group to which this country owes so much, a group which, as illness and old age take their toll, gets smaller and smaller.
I am not trying to glorify war – far from it, but the Gurkhas were there when we needed them. For UK Catters, if you hear of any action being taken in your area, please support it. If not, ask why not!
I was doing some interviews for Community Radio and was presented with a silk scarf, called a Khada, as a token of their gratitude for my support.
I never quite understood what "feeling humble" meant until then.

Eddie

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There were two threads on this subject, so I combined them at the request of the thread originators.
-Joe Offer-