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Kathmandu,Tuesday April 18, 2000 Baishakh 06, 2057.
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Reject racial diplomat
It is highly important that the people of Nepal be made aware of an attempt
by the USA
government to appoint as its next ambassador to Nepal a person who has in the past openly
insulted the Nepali people through his tactless and heartless actions.
The basic facts of the story are that in the early 1980s, Furey was a
consular officer at the American Embassy in Kathmandu. He and his wife adopted a Nepali
baby from a government-run orphanage, kept it for over 6 months with them and then
suddenly returned it to the orphanage, for their parents who visited Nepal rejected the
baby saying it was too dark to be taken to America.
We were working in Nepal at the time at the technical training institute in
Butwal, and could not believe that anyone, let alone an American diplomat, could do such a
terrible thing. We were acutely embarrassed for our Nepali friends and colleagues against
whom this was so insulting. The incident was discussed openly for several months, and
Americans and Nepalese alike were greatly offended. The Furey’s were transferred out
of Nepal shortly thereafter.
We ourselves are the proud parents of two children adopted from Nepal in the
early 1990s, and we can tell you that the legacy of the Furey incident lived on in Nepal
for many years, as child adoption by foreigners almost came to a standstill for several
years after, and only later was somewhat relaxed. We were, of course, outraged at the time
of the Furey fiasco and when we heard of his nomination to become ambassador to the same
country, we were disappointed at the ineptness, ignorance, arrogance and insensitivity of
those in the Department of State who are responsible now.
It is not too late to make your views known to the authorities responsible
for approving this nomination. Letters expressing your views should be sent to Senator
Jesse Helms, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, US Senate, Washington DC 20510
USA and to the Chief Counsel of the Foreign Relations Committee, Ms Patti McNerney, at the
same committee address. You can also write directly to the present US ambassador in Nepal,
Mr Ralph Frank, c/o US Embassy, Panipokhari, Kathmandu.
David and Claire Tala-Pederson
c/o DHV-Railton Corporation
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
