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KATHMANDU: British actress Joanna Lumley, who became the most recognised face in her own country of the British Gurkha soldiers’ fight for an end to discrimination, will be arriving in Nepal on a six-day visit Sunday for a first-hand assessment of the conditions of war veterans, many of whom are reduced to beggingwill be arriving in Nepal on a six-day visit Sunday for a first-hand assessment of the conditions of war veterans, many of whom are reduced to begging.
The Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organisation (GAESO), an organisation of former Gurkha soldiers that from the 1990s began suing the British defence ministry demanding equal pay, pension and perks, said tens of hundreds of disabled former soldiers will assemble in Kathmandu and Pokhara in central Nepal as well as Birtamod in eastern Jhapa district to apprise the actress of their tales of woe.
Lumley, whose late father Major James Rutherford Lumley had served with the 6th Gurkha Rifles and been saved by Nepali soldier Tul Bahadur Pun, had been campaigning vociferously in England this year to help Gurkha vets get the right of residence in the UK without discrimination. While soldiers from other Commonwealth countries were eligible to do so after four years of service, for Gurkhas, only those who had retired after 1997 had the right, a bar that was lifted this year after intense public criticism.The 63-year-old television star will be given a red-carpet welcome at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu when she arrives at 3pm local time. Around 2000 war veterans are expected to greet her on her arrival. She would also be meeting President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. On Monday, GAESO will felicitate her in the City Hall in Kathmandu.
Lumley’s arrival is intended to look into the living conditions of former Gurkha soldiers, many of whom live in abject poverty having been denied pension or compensation by the British government. Hundreds suffer from disabilities from war injuries.
Though Pun, a Victoria Cross recipient, received a pension, he had to mortgage his house to raise money for medical treatment in the UK since the care he needs is not available in his village in Nepal.
The Gurkhas won their first legal battle against the British government in 2002 when the court ordered the government to pay 10,000 pounds each to all the soldiers who were taken prisoners by the Japanese during World War II. However, many PoWs or their next of kin are yet to receive compensation because they did not have the required documentary evidence.
GAESO said Lumley would raise the cases she sees in Nepal when she returns home on August 1 so that the conscience of the British government is stirred.
src: timesofindia