Old soldiers fade away

摘要

This week Joanna Lumley, a British actress, received the most extravagant of welcomes in Nepal. She was mobbed at the airport, met the prime minister and president and was lauded by the speaker of parliament as a "daughter of Nepal". Her reception was a thank you for heading a campaign that persuaded the British government to change its mind and allow United Kingdom residency to Nepali Gurkhas who had served in the British army but had retired before 1997. The moral case was attractive: if someone is willing to die for a country he should be allowed to live in it. The rhetoric that accompanied the campaign was striking, too: it celebrated the martial races of the Himalayan foothills, who are plucky and loyal.