Xi Chen
NEPAL - HONG KONG - READING
'Better to die than be a coward' - The Gurkhas They were soldiers from NEPAL, known best for their bravery and strength. In 1815, the British East India Company signed a Peace Treaty , it was agreed that Gurkhas could be recruited to serve under contract in the East India Company's army. They spent their military life in HONG KONG, the place where they offered their youth and health. In 1970s, Hong Kong became the headquarter of the British Army. The Gurkhas began to transfer to Hong Kong, and they continued in this employment until 1997. Historically, Gurkhas who had served their time in the Army - a maximum of 30 years, and a minimum of 15 years to secure a pension - were discharged back to Nepal. However, in 2009, British Government announced that all Gurkha veterans who had served four years or more in the British Army before 1997 would allowed to settle in Britain. A group of Gurkha veterans are now living in READING, and they are not young and strong any more. There is not much left for them in this foreign land, except their wife, their 'Redbook' - a small certificate which recorded their whole military life, or even nothing.
Basil Al-Rawi • Nina Bumbalkova • Xi Chen • Angela YY Cheung • Alessandra Chilà • Vera Dohrenbusch • Neil Harman • Dominic Harris • Eliza Karakitsos • India Lawton • Sara Leigh Lewis • Alvin Lim • Milena Moebius • Andrea C Morley • Raoul Ries • Emma Robinson • Chris Storey • Marta Rovatti Studihrad • Gemma Webb •
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