More Gurkha soldiers to lose jobs in British Army

Kathmandu, Nepal (AHN) – Hundreds of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers are expected to lose their jobs in the British army in the defense ministry’s latest round of reduction in military strength.

“As part of further work on defense restructuring the British Army has announced today (17 January 2012) the arrangements for a second phase of Army redundancies,” a statement released by the British Embassy in Kathmandu said.

Around 400 Gurkhas are expected to be made redundant out of the 2,900 positions to be cut.

The Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Army has 3,740 soldiers. They have been the part of the British army for almost 200 years.

The defense review, which was published in 2010, demanded 7,000 job losses, but that figure more than doubled last year as the Ministry of Defense struggled to contain its ballooning budget. The ministry argues that the Gurkha brigade has grown too big in recent years, and is bound to face further cuts.

Opponents of the reduction say the soldiers, who are recruited from Nepal, are an easy target. A “Save the Gurkha” petition has been launched by the same group that fought successfully for the Gurkhas to have the same rights as other soldiers.

The Brigade of Gurkhas has been growing in size since modernization in 2007, which also allowed them to serve for 22 years instead of 15.

According to the British media, around 140 Gurkhas lost their jobs in the first wave of defense cuts last year.

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Painful affairs of child adoption in Nepal

Feature Story, Nepal (AHN) – Last September, American couple Haydn Hilling and his wife Edvige desperately wanted to take home their adopted Nepali child, Kailash. Though the American couple that hails from Louisiana spent more than one-and-a-half years getting the necessary paperwork required for the adoption, the process has come to a standstill following the United States’ decision to halt adoptions of abandoned children from Nepal.

The U.S. administration halted the adoption of Nepali children due to growing allegations of child trafficking and falsification of documents, often in connivance with government authorities.

A joint statement issued by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the first week of August said the step was taken to protect the rights and interests of Nepali children and their families after field visits to orphanages and police departments showed that documents describing children up for adoption as abandoned were often unreliable.

Another 10 countries–Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom–have also halted inter-country adoptions from Nepal.

According to Nepal’s Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, new rules were put in place last December and some stern measures have been added to the process.

“The Hague Secretariat also wants the smooth resumption of child adoption here,” chief of the ministry’s legal section, Sher Jung Karki said. The new set of policies allows local placement agencies to charge US$5,000 to adopting parents, while the government charges US$3,000.

Any foreign placement agency must set up a liaison office in Nepal and pay the government US$10,000 that will be handed over to an organization working for the welfare of children. Subsequently, the process of inter-country adoption of street children is subject to widespread abuses, the government has banned the adoption effective from Jan. 5.

The new policy also allows Nobel laureates, heads of states/governments, foreign ministers, celebrities, or a couple with an annual income of over US$300,000 to become foster parents, while others cannot.

Largely, a vulnerable adoption process that had been taking place in Nepal since several years has compelled the US government more alerted and posed a ban. That was the reason that they could not adopted two – year – old Kailash which made them running from pillar to post that their call will be heard.

Now the list is long. As many as 56 American families are facing heartbreak due to the US Government decision to ban child adoption from Nepal until Nepal’s legal provision ensures that adopted children were not fraud and claim genuine.

These desperate 56 parents have instituted an alliance and had registered a petition in US Congress. “We respectfully request that the Right Honorable members of the US Senate and House petition the Department of State and USCIS within the Department of Homeland Security to assist the “Nepal Pipeline families” in obtaining visas to bring their children home immediately,” the petition reads.

In response to the petition, 14,398 letters and emails were sent far to support their campaign. Moreover they have internet campaign through blog, http://theywaitnepal.blogspot.com/. One can find the photos of to be adopted Nepali child and their US mother. “These families are struggling to bring home their legally adopted children who are stuck in Nepal awaiting visas that will allow them to enter the US,” they write in their blog.

Many anxious parents are waiting in the US also. Many are stranded since August, 2010.

It seems that child adoption in Nepal has been turned into a profitable business as dozens of websites and privately organizations have claimed that there were many advantages of adopting children from Nepal. “There are many advantages for adopting from Nepal. Even though Nepal is an economically poor country, children are cared for very well with few incidences of abuse or neglect. If you like the idea of adopting a baby or toddler, it would be an excellent country to consider,” claims, adoptionark.

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Nepal plans to host 200,000 gay tourists in ambitious tourism year

Kathmandu, Nepal (AHN) – As part of its ambitious Nepal Tourism Year – 2011, which is set to unveil on Jan.14, Nepal is gearing up to host more than 200,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) tourists, a country that is pioneering in gay rights activities.

Nepal hopes to welcome more than 1 million tourists during the year. The country only recently surfaced from a deadly decade-long conflict in which 13,000 people were killed.

Nepal’s president, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, is scheduled to inaugurate Nepal Tourism Year 2011 next Friday amid a gala ceremony in Kathmandu. According to Aditya Baral, of the Nepal Tourisn Board, 49 international media organizations will attend the opening day.

The Blue Diamond Society, a pioneering organization in LGBTI rights, is planning to invite gay tourists from across the globe. The group’s chairman and Member of Parliament Sunil Babu Panat, who is also gay, has established Pink Mountain Travels and Tours to help welcome the gay fraternity to Nepal.

The newly established travel agency provides holiday and travel packages that include wedding, honeymoon and anniversary celebrations exclusively for LGBTI. “The response from international clients is very much encouraging,” said Panata, who hosted a gay marriage in Kathmandu last year. The BDS organized the same-sex marriage of an Indo-British couple last August in Nepal.

“We are encouraged by the response extended by our target tourist. As of now two proposals of same-sex marriages were confirmed. And some have expressed commitment for trekking and adventures,” Panta said.

Nepal’s two economic giants, India and China, are the marketing focus of the Pink agency.

Globally, gay tourism is estimated to be over US$100 billion a year.

“The U.S. alone makes $68 billion every year through gay tourism,” said Panta. “We are one of the fastest growing South Asian countries to accept the natural characteristics of being LGBTI. We can reap this benefit to boost the economy of the country.”

Research conducted by the Community Marketing International (CMI) in the United States found that 98 percent of LGBTIs have at least one overnight trip a year.

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