When Britain's Prince Harry visits
Nepal this weekend, ordinary people hope his tour of earthquake-hit areas will
draw attention to the country's struggle to recover from last year's disaster.
Rebuilding is slow, and tens of thousands remain homeless.Hopefully when a big
prince comes to these alleys and the world's media will see how miserable our
lives are, we will get some help," said Ram Kaji, who was selling potatoes
on the street near his damaged home in Patan, a historic district near the capital
of Kathmandu.The April 25, 2015, quake killed nearly 9,000 people, destroyed
about 1 million homes and damaged many old temples, palaces and other old
structures in Patan and the capital.
During his five-day trip, the
31-year-old prince will also visit a camp for displaced survivors and stay with
a family whose men served in the famed Gurkha regiments in the British army —
units that Harry served with in Afghanistan.He has a huge amount of admiration
for the resilience of the people of the country, particularly in response to
the earthquakes last year," Kensington Palace said in a statement.Harry is
the first British royal to visit the Himalayan country since the monarchy was
abolished in 2008 following street protests. Since then, Nepal has turned into
a republic, with a president chosen by a parliament. The prince will meet with
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari. Authorities, however, have been slow to push
ahead with rebuilding efforts. A government reconstruction agency was finally
appointed in December but has yet to provide promised aid money to displaced
families and guidelines to build new houses and structures.People who live
around the shiny Golden Temple in Patan — which Queen Elizabeth visited about
30 years ago — hope Harry's visit will generate greater awareness about
rebuilding needs and bring in funds to repair damages to the many of historic
structures.
The Buddhist shrine that dates back
1,400 years was mostly spared by the earthquake but the adjoining monastery,
prayer house and assembly halls have been damaged. Only plastic sheets are
keeping the rain off and the damaged areas are closed to the public due to
danger of collapse. Harry will also negotiate a narrow alley alongside brick
and mud houses that are supported by wooden beams.Puspa Raj Bajracharya, who is
on the committee that takes care of the Golden Temple, said they have sent
requests and proposals to the government, saying it was getting dangerous for
the devotees who come to the temple, but have not received any response. Repairs
are estimated to cost about 25 million rupees ($227,000), but so far only a
fraction of that has been collected from private donors.His grandmother had
visited the temple in the 1980s when she came to Nepal with her husband and now
the young prince is coming," Bajracharya said. "We hope when the
prince comes to our temple we will get the attention of the world to come help
us.Prince Harry will also travel to Bhaktapur, a historic town east of
Kathmandu that suffered even more damage, and visit a nearby temporary camp for
about 250 people made homeless by the disaster, a quarter of whom are children.In
Pokhara, a lakeside town that is a base for trekkers in central Nepal, Harry
will meet several retired Gurkha soldiers and their families. The prince served
with a Gurkha battalion during a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
The Gurkhas have served in the
British army for 200 years and have a reputation for being brave, tenacious
fighters. Thousands of young Nepali men attempt to pass the grueling test to
become a Gurkha, but only a few get through.Harry will honor those killed in
battle and spend a night with a local family.
For years, the Gurkhas fought for
equal pay and pension to their British counterparts until a landmark 2008 court
ruling that ended most discriminatory practices. Gurkha soldiers now receive
equal salary and pension, and their families are allowed to settle in Britain.
However, those who retired before 2008 still get roughly one-third of the
pension.The Gurkhas are proud of their heritage and identity, and Harry's visit
is a "big event for us Gurkhas," said Krishna Kumar Ale, who served
in the British army between 1969 and 1998 when he retired as a major. He
recalled seeing the young Harry during a visit to a military exercise in
Britain, and said Harry once had a Gurkha orderly.He is a good friend of the
Gurkhas," he said, "and has always been close with the Gurkhas. Source by Kathmandu post
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