Gurkhas are the men from Nepal with over 200 years of foreign military service, recruited as foreign soldiers because of their martial race, a colonial logic that espoused their military bravery and loyalty was rooted in their biology.
A logic that profoundly informs the lives of these men and the social fabric of the communities they come from.
It is this same logic that makes these men desirable as global security contractors.
But this story is not about Gurkhas as martial men. This is about Gurkhas as husbands, fathers, sons and the role their families play in their broader security migration.
The recruitment process is highly rigorous and lengthy.
The men need to have former military experience, be medically fit, speak English with a degree of competency, have passed intensive security background checks and possess competency in firearm training.
Most won’t pass the English exam.
We followed Gurkhas moving from military service to private armed security work in Afghanistan.
For those successful, this employment offers an important economic life line But this migration comes at an emotional cost.
The everyday lives of these security migrants and their families are marked by resilience against dangerous and long working hours and longing for the absent father and husband.
Wives cope by keeping busy with household activities, caring for their parents, their communities and raising the children. These security households remain important emotional lifelines for these men, particularly when they are missing comforts of home.
The homecomings and departures are equally emotional. The difficulties this work brings is endured for a ‘better future’.
In comparison to military work, private security is riskier, and the deployments are longer, but the pay is considerably better.
The difficulties this work brings is endured for a ‘better future’. Futures that are not marked by uncertainty over food, education possibilities or a safe place to live.
Futures that open up alternatives other than military service or marrying into military families. Futures where security migration is not a necessity. In fact it is this optimism for a better future alongside the lack of alternative opportunities that makes the recruitment of this security workforce possible and enduring.
Link to the online article published,
