Bluebarrels Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 http://www.lbc.co.uk/ghurkas-in-westminster-hunger-strike-over-pensions-80275 Lets see how this one plays out BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper3 Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 These are one group of people who ACTUALLY fight for this country. personally , I think they deserve a full pension.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westmids1987 Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 These are one group of people who ACTUALLY fight for this country. personally , I think they deserve a full pension..+1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 The Gurkha's certainly have a good publicity machine,and are good infantry soldiers,but they are mercenaries who volunteer to fight for the British Army because they know the pay and conditions are fantastic compared to what is on offer in their country.Do they deserve the same pay,or should we just disband the Gurkha's,what an emotive subject,there are lots who do not have to much good to say about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 (edited) Anyone who've done as they and others have done for this country and its people deserve their pension and a place on our society. To many non deserving reprobates getting when they shouldn't. Figgy Edited October 26, 2013 by figgy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 Not wishing to take anything away from this, but they are taking it in turns. Hardly 'hunger striking' as led to believe, merely 'bit peckish let the next guy take over' They deserve everything they request, but not sure this is the way to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karpman Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 (edited) Anyone who've done as they and others have done for this country and its people deserve their pension and a place on our society. To many non deserving reprobates getting when they shouldn't. Figgy I'm with you, we dish money out to immigrants who do nothing and I mean nothing.. To this country. Well nothing worth having. Karpman Edit: and no by on large I don't count there cultures as a contribution before someone starts. Edited October 26, 2013 by karpman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 (edited) Not wishing to take anything away from this, but they are taking it in turns. Hardly 'hunger striking' as led to believe, merely 'bit peckish let the next guy take over' They deserve everything they request, but not sure this is the way to do it. This is the warm up stage, to show they're serious. they will go in for a full hunger strike if their demands are not met. Several of the protesters are from Reading, so they were given more coverage on South Today that they get in this article. Edited October 26, 2013 by chrisjpainter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 Why do the Ghurka's deserve everything, they are after all mercenaries,in an age when the army is being cut to the quick,would it not make sense to disband them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karpman Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 Why do the Ghurka's deserve everything, they are after all mercenaries,in an age when the army is being cut to the quick,would it not make sense to disband them. Think you will find there not mercenaries. Just had a look a Wikipedia lol. Karpman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 (edited) Think you will find there not mercenaries. Just had a look a Wikipedia lol. Karpman http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercenary Last time i shared a room with one for 9 months he took great delight to explain to us all that he was not British and when he left he would be very well off because of all the money the Army paid him. Edited October 26, 2013 by welsh1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discodog Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 Comfy chair, glass of wine, now were did I put that popcorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karpman Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercenary Karpman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karpman Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercenary Last time i shared a room with one for 9 months he took great delight to explain to us all that he was not British and when he left he would be very well off because of all the money the Army paid him. Fair play to him, if he is prepared to risk his life to help protect this country he deserves it. I think all the brave men and women who serve and whom have served deserve looking after. And we should be proud of them from the veterans in care homes to the ones who paid the ultimate price and everyone in between. But yet we seem to hand out the cash to anyone who knocks on our door and doe's nothing for it. Karpman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 If i recall correctly the Initial hunger 'strike' is for 13 Days (1 for each VC won by Gurkha Soldiers) This will then move on to a 'unto death' Hunger Strike at a later date. It follows the loss of a Test Case some time ago (2010?) regarding Upping of the pension of those who retired before 2007 (?) who get about 1/3 of the current rate. The lower rate was introduced to provide a comfortable standard of living in Nepal, (based on the Local Cost of Living) where most (90+ %) Retired back to, and to keep the local Economy on an even keel (so as not to create instant 'Millionaires' overnight) With the Right to Remain all Gurkha's now retire on a better pension than those pre Right and a Majority elect to stay in the UK Another side to the protest (Hunger Strike) is for the payment of Medical Expenses of those who have Retired Home (Nepal) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 they should get it, there good people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsonicnat Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 These soldiers saved a lot of lives, by just being who they are: Dark of night with the "Whisper of Gurkas on this front", did not make brave men stand their ground... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 They are foreign soldiers serving in the British Army for payment,even the Ghurkas will tell you they are mercenaries. Before anyone tells me i am a hater of Ghurkas,lets get some things straight. As said i shared a room with one for 9 months, and while his kit was immaculate and his soldiering was second to none, he was a lazy slob who had to be ordered to do the simplest task,this is quite a common trait in the Ghurkas. I have been in their barracks many times for curry nights, it was across the road from my Depot.and they are all a bit mental,most play the i don't speak english card if they don't want to do something ,and regularly ignore officers orders and then ask their own Sgts should they do it. Go down to any garrison town with Ghurkas in,Aldershot for example and ask if they like ghurkas,and you will get Pads wife's telling you stories of drunken Ghurkas banging on doors in the middle of the night shouting for sex,a drunk ghurka is not pleasant. While i admire the bravery of some ghurkas,they are not all like that,and at the end of the day are just infantry soldiers,with an Engineer arm,so why should British soldiers be made redundant when foreign soldiers continue? Ghurkas only join the Army for the money, they don't give a stuff about the crown,just the ability to earn massive amounts(compared to their home)of money and then retire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 Sounds like you have described most Welsh Guards who venture to Guildford, or super hard paras who want to take the world on. Plenty of them have won VCs, hothing personal but saying "I dont hate them, but " then describing squaddie behaviour suggests you do.does every squaddie who joins only do so for queen and country ? So they would do it for free. Soldiers are paid, does not make them mercanaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 Anyone who've done as they and others have done for this country and its people deserve their pension and a place on our society. To many non deserving reprobates getting when they shouldn't. Figgy +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 Go down to any garrison town with Ghurkas in,Aldershot for example and ask if they like ghurkas,and you will get Pads wife's telling you stories of drunken Ghurkas banging on doors in the middle of the night shouting for sex,a drunk ghurka is not pleasant. That's true. We have them down here at Blandford Camp. I used to run into them in town regularly in my drinking days. They were always very neatly dressed and , when sober, scrupulously polite. And then they got p*****. And god did they get p*****. Can't recall them being violent, just very hard work, like 13 year old boys who've raided the drinks cabinet while their parents were away. Similarly they were like embarrassing school boys around women. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 (edited) Sounds like you have described most Welsh Guards who venture to Guildford, or super hard paras who want to take the world on. Plenty of them have won VCs, hothing personal but saying "I dont hate them, but " then describing squaddie behaviour suggests you do.does every squaddie who joins only do so for queen and country ? So they would do it for free. Soldiers are paid, does not make them mercanaries. What have vc's got to do with it,i was a Royal Engineer,more vc's than any one else apart from the Medical Corp,and been in every battle since the Army was raised. There is a difference between drunken squaddies and drunken Gurkhas, you have to witness them to know what i mean. See the definition i posted of mercenaries earlier, it is quite clear. And i don't hate them, if i did do you think i would keep getting invited to have a curry in their camp if i did? Would you have stayed in the same room as me for 9 months if i hated you? No one has answered my question about cuts,a British infantry unit steeped in probably 4-500 years of tradition, or a gurkha unit with 200 years of tradition,and a romanticised history.which one should go? Oh and i joined at 17 because i always wanted to be a soldier and serve my country,you will find the large majority of British Soldiers will tell you the same. Edited October 26, 2013 by welsh1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karpman Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 What have vc's got to do with it,i was a Royal Engineer,more vc's than any one else apart from the Medical Corp,and been in every battle since the Army was raised. There is a difference between drunken squaddies and drunken Gurkhas, you have to witness them to know what i mean. See the definition i posted of mercenaries earlier, it is quite clear. And i don't hate them, if i did do you think i would keep getting invited to have a curry in their camp if i did? Would you have stayed in the same room as me for 9 months if i hated you? No one has answered my question about cuts,a British infantry unit steeped in probably 4-500 years of tradition, or a gurkha unit with 200 years of tradition,and a romanticised history.which one should go? Oh and i joined at 17 because i always wanted to be a soldier and serve my country,you will find the large majority of British Soldiers will tell you the same. Don't think either should go to be honest mate. And you have my deepest respect for serving. If it was my choice and it's not I would look at were the money is going and keep my army strong. Never no when the country might have to lean on the folks in service. Karpman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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