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Source: SCMP Young Post. Title: Hong Kong stories: How Nepalese Gurkha soldiers helped shape the history of our city. Year: 2019 URL: https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/lifestyle/features/article/3065680/hongkong-stories-how-nepalese-gurkha-soldiers
On a cold evening in November 1996, a troop of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers from the Royal Gurkha Rifles gathered at their barracks in Hong Kong for the last time. Clad in traditional kits and carrying curved swords and knives, they performed their traditional kukri dance with heavy hearts. On July 1, 1997, soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army entered the barracks, and Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty, marking the end of 156 years of British rule in the territory. The Gurkha soldiers’ roots can be traced back to the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. During the Anglo-Nepal war in 1812, their resilience during battle impressed the British soldiers so much, the two camps joined forces, rather than continue to battle. They played a crucial role in helping the allied forces win the second world war. They first arrived in Hong Kong in 1948, after India gained independence. Their main role was to patrol the city’s ports to deter illegal immigrants from entering. But they also provided humanitarian relief during natural disasters, and maintained social stability in Hong “Their bravery and defiance is what made [the Gurkha soldiers] such an asset to the British army,” says Amod Rai, founder of the Gurkha Cemeteries Trust, an organisation that educates people about Gurkhas and their contributions to Hong Kong society. Rai’s grandfather was a Gurkha in Hong Kong. Renowned for their resilience and bravery, Gurkha soldiers were held in high regard, both in Hong Kong and in their home country of Nepal. Rai tells us that during the Cultural Revolution in China, a Gurkha solider was entrusted with crossing the Hong Kong border to negotiate with Chinese officials to release a British solider, after all other courses of action failed. The Indian immigrant that helped build HKU and the road that bears his name “If it wasn’t for him, there may have been a full blown war!” adds Rai. “Hong Kong
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