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Old 30th January 2011, 01:51 PM   #10
celtan
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: PR, USA
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Hi Guys,

All the Nepalese (and Thais!) I have met, have characteristically been extremely courteous and pleasant. A close friend being a member of their Royal family, I had the frequent opportunity to socially engage many.

OTOH, War brings out the worst in every one. It is a medical fact that war conditions actually change the _anatomy_ of the brain, meaning that soldiers do not behave the same as when in regular social conditions.

What I said comes from reading war action reports in 1982-83. OTOH, it helps if you can read Spanish, as Argentineans speak that language. : )

Granted, virtually all of the reports on War Crimes are for actions committed by British troops, not Gurkhas.

Nonetheless, there_are_ reports of Gurkha atrocities, namely a surprise attack of the Duke of Edinburgh's First Gurkha Fusilier Battallion on advanced Argentine positions, which involved killing of the woundedc, raping of prisoners, and mutilations.

Author Gabriel Barcia Marquez quoted witnesses as saying that the Gurkhas:

…beheaded Argentine soldiers with their assassins' scimitars and were so bloodthirsty that the English had to handcuff them to stop further killing after the Argentines had surrendered.

More comments on the subject appear in "Los chicos de la guerra", by Daniel Kon.

Regarding the attached "tourist's" kukri/Kuhkuri: I saw an ethnic weapon in very bad shape, and out of sheer pity, chose to rescue it and try to repair some of the damage suffered at the hands of its previous uncaring owner.

As`I already said, I did so because of my previous contacts with people from Nepal. Since you suggest it is a pile of touristry crap, I guess I will rather throw it to the trash and avoid wasting my valuable time on rstoring such a piece of worthless, rusted metal, to which I have no cultural or historic ties. Thanks kindly for the info, it saved me some time for which I have better use..!

Best regards

Manuel Luis Iravedra
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