Thanks Kieran;


Entry for 18 June 2007
From todays Daily Mail;


A decorated Gurkha who fought in the Falklands War has been banned
from entering Britain to get treatment for injuries sustained in the
conflict.


Gurkha Lance Corporal Gyanendra Rai served in the armed forces for 14
years and sustained horrific injuries after being shelled at Bluff
Cove in the war with Argentina 25 years ago.

The ex-machine gunner's back was torn open and even after three
operations he is still in constant pain.

LCpl Rai, 51, recently tried to come to Britain to get NHS treatment
for his injuries as he cannot afford the necessary medication in his
home country of Nepal.

But Government officials rejected the father-of-five's application
fearing he would stay here and claiming he had insufficient links to
justify a visa.

Their decision means he also missed events in Britain to mark the
25th anniversary of the victory of the conflict, which took place
yesterday, and has caused outrage.

LCpl Rai's lawyer Martin Howe condemned the decision.

He said: "It's outrageous that during the 25th anniversary of the
Falklands War a Gurkha hero seriously wounded in active combat find
his application to come to the UK refused by pen-pushing British
civil servants."

LCpl Rai joined the Gurkha Brigade of the British Army in 1963 and
served until 1987. He reached the rank of corporal and his conduct
was described as 'exemplary'.

In 1982 he was sent to the Falklands attached to "B" Company of the
1st Battalion of the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles.

His group came under attack by Argentinians on June 11 after a three-
day march to Bluff Cove in -14C temperatures.

He needed a skin and muscle graft from another soldier to heal his
horrific wound, although he still bears the scars today.

Describing the moment he was injured, widower LCpl Rai, who was
awarded the South Atlantic Medal, said: "We were securing our
trenches when I heard a whizzing, whistling noise in the sky above
me.

"An artillery round exploded about five metres from me and my men.

"I found it hard to breathe. I went deaf and was in and out of
consciousness. I remember smelling smoke and burning flesh and
noticed my uniform was torn, smouldering and singed.

"I used my hand to smother the smouldering cloth.

"I noticed the left side of my back had been torn out by the shrapnel
from the artillery. I tried to crawl but I just could not move and
was smothered in my blood.

"I was absolutely convinced I would die. I was in severe pain. It was
like someone had drive a four-pound sledge hammer through the side of
my back."

The Gurkhas have fought loyally for Britain all over the world,
including in Hong Kong, Borneo, Cyprus and the Falklands.

At their peak in World War Two they numbered 112,000 men, but that
has decreased to around 3,500 now.

Although the Gurkhas are based in Shorncliffe near Folkestone, Kent
they do not become British citizens.

This has left the door open for the government to treat them shabbily
and deny them entry to the country they fought for.

In 2000 forty ex-Gurkhas were refused temporary work permits to come
to Britain and work as lorry drivers.

The government said the jobs should go to drivers from EU countries
instead.

Earlier this month, the Home Office backed down on a decision to ban
Gurkha Tal Bahadur Pun from coming to the UK to get medical treatment
and see old comrades after a Daily Mail campaign.

The 84-year-old had won a Victoria Cross - the armed forces' highest
award for bravery in the face of the enemy - for single-handedly
storming Japanese machine gun positions in the Second World War.

Les Heyhoe, of the Falklands Veterans Foundation, said: "The bottom
line is there are injuries incurred as a result of serving he should
be allowed to get treatment.

"If he had sought this treatment at the time of the conflict 14 or 15
years ago he would have been well looked after.

"Whether it took one week or 10 years for him to seek that care
shouldn't make a difference."

The Foreign Office said: "We can't comment on individual visa
applications."


www.vchero.co.uk