Dear parents of Gareth!
I can not help to bring back Your son. But I got some experience, maybe, the same, as Your son got. I had been lucky and my girlfriend, too.
Despite of that, which Your and my embassy will tell You, Nepal is one of the most dangerous places of the world for trekkers. The embassies are conceiling that. There are more than 100 victims of murderers every year and nothing will appear in the newspapers or TV. The secret services will stop publishing. So I think, it is a most good idea, to put your text into the internet!
Even, if Your son may not return, you will save many other lifes.
The plains are not really dangerious, but the region nearer to Namche is. These are normal criminals, who watch for torists, which travel alone. Most of the victims are girls. In every case they will try to kill. There must remain no trace, of which may be reported in the newspapers. From a father of another German victim in Buxtehude I heard, the German embassy told them , that their son may have left the contry. That was not true. There were traces and they led to the Bamboo Hut near Annapurna. The relatives of Herrmann Ruediger found his body, and the murderer. Normally You will not have that chance and it would be too dangerous to look for Your son. There is no police, which will help you and the embassy will do the opposite. A Frenchmen , who made an investigation of the death of Herrmann Ruediger was reported to be killed, in a jail in the mountains...
Our story is most terrible, after we had survived. But there was a convenience, that we should be killed after. There was a criminal. The ambassadors of the other western countries, which I conected at least, told me, this man would reside in the German embassy... they helped us, to leave the country, against the intention of our embassador under Mr. Kohl.
What we need, would be a team, which speaks Nepali and would help all these parents, which are searching for their children in Nepal. These are hundreds. Perhaps we could make an arrangement of conceiling the facts...The most dangerious region is helambu, the second may be Langtang and Annapurna. Most near to the Everest You will find military, and the risk becomes lower. Do not think , maobadies would have kept Your son. These farmers and students never would do any harm to tourists. They would help You, People in Nepal are helpful. My adress:
mail@berndschlueter.deThank You so much for your postings. I tried to warn as often and I am glad for any help . Maybe, Your son may not return, but perhaps we could help others!
I am a witnesser for the fact, that the employees of our German embassy and yours, too, use to take off the posters , on which parents are asking for help to find their children, mostly young girls. After a friend of King Birendra had helped us, I watched our embassy, too...
Namaste! And for a better world!
Bernd Schlueter, Duesseldorf, Germany
Discuss about the highest mountains on the seven continents
