It's not often I go in for the whole "signing petitions" thing, but this one caught my eye. I won't oversell it, read the website - it has all the details you need.
After reading that, I feel that the gentleman in question has more right to consider himself a British Citizen than I do by far. To put it mildly, the position of the Home Office is disgraceful.
I thought that some of you might be interested in signing the petition.
This is indeed horrific. Almost all nations have had colonial troops fight for them though none as numerous or gallant as those which served the Crown of Great Britain. I did not know that those who fought for King and Country needed to display strong ties to the British Empire - -I would have thought their deeds and if nothing else their very presence in uniform under the guns of the enemy would have been ties enough, more so than those who shirked duty or did not fight and possessed citizenship by merit only of birth.
I am not a citizen of the United Kingdom but as a soldier and a gentleman, I am appalled. Were there anything I could do, I would.
Hopefully the Crown will intervene and the loyalty of the Royal Family will be shown above the pacifism of Parliament.
Tbh, I think this situation will be sorted out as soon as it goes to the Immigration Judge in August. The Home Office will use words like "misunderstanding" and everything will be swept under the carpet. Of course, that won't stop exactly the same thing happening to the next ex-Gurkha who wants to settle here...
Though the problem's broader than that. I don't know whether you caught that documentary on the BBC about those veterans who put up an unofficial statue in Trafalgar Square, dedicated to the soldiers who have been injured in combat and then abandoned by the government.
There were some truly shocking scenes: This guy had been injured in combat, flown back to the UK and taken to an NHS hospital where he was asked to remove his uniform in case it offended anybody. !. The comparison with the US was fairly telling as well. The Americans they interviewed (all injured soldiers) talked about how well treated they were by their government, how they were treated in military hospitals (the UK only has one military hospital, due to close) and how they *didn't* feel abandoned by the state...
I honestly don't see why we can't do that. These guys (and gals :P) lay their lives on the line for their country, and we don't seem to care. On the one hand we don't have the funding for that and on the other, we're hosting the London Olympics.
I think HM Government has to sort its life out.
Perhaps you need to work as a Home Office bureaucrat? ...
This message I received on facebook from a group to do with this topic might interest people:
The government have capitulated!!
"Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said today: "The circumstances surrounding Tul Bahadur Pun's case are clearly exceptional, and in the light of this the Home Secretary, John Reid, and I have reviewed the case and made the decision to grant Mr Pun a settlement visa immediately.
"This decision was not taken lightly and reflects the extraordinary nature of this case, in particular Mr Pun's heroic record in service of Britain which saw him awarded the Victoria Cross. It is entirely right that this record should not only be recognised but honoured.
"There has always been scope to grant settlement in the UK to ex-Gurkhas who have retired before July 1997, and who do not meet the requirements in the immigration rules. As on this occasion, discretion may be exercised on a case by case basis. We have also taken into consideration his current medical condition."
WELL DONE TO ONE AND ALL!!! :o) :o)
I presume plans are afoot to arrange a proper welcome for Mr Pun, VC, so I will make sure you are kept up to date. Also, June 23rd is Gurkha rememberance - we are hoping to have a parade / protest in London - again, will update. I'm sure you're all pretty stoked with this news, thank you to all, and in particular, thanks to Kieran who has really worked his arrse off for this. Thanks to the other admins too :o)
PLEEASE do not let this rest though - lets keep up the momentum and ensure fair and equal treatment for all our Gurkhas.
