Stalin_joe Posted May 28, 2007 Posted May 28, 2007 Hi Guys, sorry if you consider this post too be a bit political. But as an ex serviceman myself I am furious about this incident. VC HERO BANNED FROM BRITAIN. A GURKHA who won the VC fighting for Britain has been banned from coming to live here - because he has "failed to demonstrate strong ties with the UK". Tul Bahadur Pun, 84, who won our highest bravery medal in the Second World War, wants to spend his last days among old comrades and having treatment for several health problems. At his ramshackle home in Nepal, he said last night: "I feel bitterly disappointed at the way successive British governments have treated me. "I have served the UK with the utmost loyalty and to be treated this way is appalling." Tul was handed his VC by Lord Mountbatten in 1944 for single-handedly charging a Japanese position in Burma under heavy fire. In an "exemplary" 18 year Army career he won 10 more medals, risking his life in Malaysia, India and Hong Kong, and served several tours of duty in Britain. Now living in a hut with no proper roof, running water or sanitation in a village 16,000ft up in the Himalayas, Tul has diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems and asthma. His eyesight is poor and he has hearing trouble. He said: "I take a substantial amount of medication daily, without which I would die. There is not always a constant supply. When it runs out I feel vulnerable. There are no doctors or nurses, no medical outposts. I wish to settle in the UK to have better access to medication, care and support from doctors and nurses. "I have to pay for these out of my pension from the British Army of £132 per month. "I am very weak and... have to travel to the Gurkha camp in Pokhara every month to collect my pension. If I do not go in person I will not receive it. "It takes three hours to drive, then a one-day walk. As I am unable to walk unaided I have to be carried by two or three men. "The medication can be very expensive and I sometimes cannot afford it and rely on my family to pay for it. If they are unable to, which is often, I have to borrow money. This is very degrading." Tul applied for indefinite leave to enter Britain. The law allows for deserving cases to be let in but British officials in Nepal said they were "not satisfied... your application meets the requirements". They added: "This is because you have failed to demonstrate that you have strong ties with the UK." Astonishingly, among the reasons were: "You have not produced satisfactory evidence that you have a chronic or long term medical condition where treatment here would significantly improve your quality of life." Tul said he will appeal. His lawyer Martin Howe, of Ealing, West London, said: "These heroes should be welcomed yet they are treated like beggars and pariahs. "What stronger tie is there than being prepared to lay down your life in defence of Britain?" The Foreign Office said last night: "He can apply again, addressing the concerns of the entry clearance officer." www.mirror.co.uk/news/..._page.html If your in the UK please sign the petition on the following link, Thank you. http://www.vchero.co.uk/ Steve aka stalin Quote
Jug Posted May 28, 2007 Posted May 28, 2007 Hi Guys, sorry if you consider this post too be a bit political. But as an ex serviceman myself I am furious about this incident. VC HERO BANNED FROM BRITAIN. A GURKHA who won the VC fighting for Britain has been banned from coming to live here - because he has "failed to demonstrate strong ties with the UK". Tul Bahadur Pun, 84, who won our highest bravery medal in the Second World War, wants to spend his last days among old comrades and having treatment for several health problems. At his ramshackle home in Nepal, he said last night: "I feel bitterly disappointed at the way successive British governments have treated me. "I have served the UK with the utmost loyalty and to be treated this way is appalling." Tul was handed his VC by Lord Mountbatten in 1944 for single-handedly charging a Japanese position in Burma under heavy fire. In an "exemplary" 18 year Army career he won 10 more medals, risking his life in Malaysia, India and Hong Kong, and served several tours of duty in Britain. Now living in a hut with no proper roof, running water or sanitation in a village 16,000ft up in the Himalayas, Tul has diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems and asthma. His eyesight is poor and he has hearing trouble. He said: "I take a substantial amount of medication daily, without which I would die. There is not always a constant supply. When it runs out I feel vulnerable. There are no doctors or nurses, no medical outposts. I wish to settle in the UK to have better access to medication, care and support from doctors and nurses. "I have to pay for these out of my pension from the British Army of £132 per month. "I am very weak and... have to travel to the Gurkha camp in Pokhara every month to collect my pension. If I do not go in person I will not receive it. "It takes three hours to drive, then a one-day walk. As I am unable to walk unaided I have to be carried by two or three men. "The medication can be very expensive and I sometimes cannot afford it and rely on my family to pay for it. If they are unable to, which is often, I have to borrow money. This is very degrading." Tul applied for indefinite leave to enter Britain. The law allows for deserving cases to be let in but British officials in Nepal said they were "not satisfied... your application meets the requirements". They added: "This is because you have failed to demonstrate that you have strong ties with the UK." Astonishingly, among the reasons were: "You have not produced satisfactory evidence that you have a chronic or long term medical condition where treatment here would significantly improve your quality of life." Tul said he will appeal. His lawyer Martin Howe, of Ealing, West London, said: "These heroes should be welcomed yet they are treated like beggars and pariahs. "What stronger tie is there than being prepared to lay down your life in defence of Britain?" The Foreign Office said last night: "He can apply again, addressing the concerns of the entry clearance officer." www.mirror.co.uk/news/..._page.html If your in the UK please sign the petition on the following link, Thank you. http://www.vchero.co.uk/ Steve aka stalin On one hand I wish I lived in the UK, so I could sign the petition. On the other hand, I am glad I don't. A nation's real heros, that not being the latest rock band or soccer star, need to be revered by that nation or they are at the point of dissappearing from the face of the earth. Sounds like a foreign office bureaucrat that has not heard the sound of an enemy bullit in his entire self-serving life. Bet he calls Gurkhas, 'kaffirs' standing by the water cooler and trying to look important. I join you in dismay! Quote
+SayethWhaaaa Posted May 28, 2007 Posted May 28, 2007 It's a shame that 50 years after WW2, these guys are still fighting. I can't believe the raw deal they've been handed after their valiant defence of the Commonwealth! Quote
Atreides Posted June 6, 2007 Posted June 6, 2007 Yeah well, the Brit's still more than gladly recruit Gurkha's to fight for them and die for their "cause" whatever it may be, but still very rarely even grant them citizienship :no2: :angry2: What idiocy and hypocritical nonsense :fuk: Quote
+Dagger Posted June 6, 2007 Posted June 6, 2007 there was an on-line petetion and after some time he was granted entry into the UK.I read it on another forum..will try to find it again.But he is now in the UK or will be soon. Quote
+BUFF Posted June 6, 2007 Posted June 6, 2007 Yeah well, the Brit's still more than gladly recruit Gurkha's to fight for them and die for their "cause" whatever it may be, but still very rarely even grant them citizienship :no2: :angry2: What idiocy and hypocritical nonsense :fuk: actually all who served in the British army after July 1, 1997, have been given citizenship rights. & the UK still gets 100s of applications for every place available. It's all a bit complicated though largely because it also has to take into account the agreement between India & the UK on Ghurka pay/conditions etc. when the Gurkha regiments were divided between the 2 - the UK can't just do things unilaterally. I've been in the same barracks with them on a couple of occasions - they do a mean curry but you don't pick a fight with them! Quote
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