:00:00. > :00:00.Labour proposals for an elected Senate to replace the House of Lords
:00:00. > :00:00.to be included in its UK election manifesto.
:00:00. > :00:12.Now on BBC News, it's time for Our World. How much of a risk would you
:00:13. > :00:20.take to earn a living for your family? Every climbing season in the
:00:21. > :00:21.Himalayas, shoppers put their lives on the line to help mountaineers
:00:22. > :00:32.reach the top of Everest. on the line to help mountaineers
:00:33. > :00:37.reach the top of `` Sherpas. Following a disastrous avalanche
:00:38. > :00:42.that claimed 16 lives this year, the Tenzing Norgay refused to go back on
:00:43. > :00:50.the mountain for the rest of the season. `` the Sherpas refused to go
:00:51. > :01:02.back on the mountain. I was born and grew up in Nepal and now as a
:01:03. > :01:06.reporter, I have come to the remote valleys of the Sherpa heartland to
:01:07. > :01:11.find out why there is a stand`off at the top of the world. You have lost
:01:12. > :01:22.two sons to the mountain. Do you think the job has become too
:01:23. > :01:23.dangerous? Is this a turning point for the men who risked everything on
:01:24. > :01:46.the world's highest mountain? The Himalayas, at once staggeringly
:01:47. > :01:55.beautiful and frighteningly dangerous. Like silence in rock,
:01:56. > :01:59.they are an irresistible draw to mountaineers and adventurous, but
:02:00. > :02:09.approach at your peril. The risks are palpable. Rising majestically,
:02:10. > :02:16.the peak that the Nepalese have named... The peak that the rest of
:02:17. > :02:22.the world calls Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Everest is
:02:23. > :02:27.and identity for all of the Nepalese like me. It is the soul of the
:02:28. > :02:34.country. Nepal might be less well`known but the whole world knows
:02:35. > :02:46.Everest. I respected but they also fear it, knowing what can happen up
:02:47. > :02:52.there. I remember as a child proudly pinning a poster of the mountain on
:02:53. > :02:59.my bedroom wall. To us Nepalese people, Everest is more than just a
:03:00. > :03:07.national symbol. It is revered. And since it was first climbed by Edmund
:03:08. > :03:14.Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, Sherpas have become the mountain's
:03:15. > :03:27.heroes. The quiet and ferociously determined local guides that
:03:28. > :03:30.mountaineers depend on. Men like Dawa Tashi, a descendant of the
:03:31. > :03:35.close`knit community that migrated from Tibet hundreds of years ago.
:03:36. > :03:41.Early on the morning of the 18th of April this year, Dawa Tashi was
:03:42. > :03:44.working on Mount Everest. It was the beginning of the climbing season and
:03:45. > :03:51.he was preparing the route from Anthony is to come up from base camp
:03:52. > :03:57.in the days ahead. Dawa Tashi was just crossing the notoriously
:03:58. > :04:00.dangerous Khumbu icefall when suddenly, there was a loud rumble
:04:01. > :04:44.that he had never heard before. Can you show us the injuries you
:04:45. > :04:48.have sustained? Dawa Tashi was rescued and carried down the
:04:49. > :04:57.mountain. He suffered many injuries and was sent to Kathmandu for
:04:58. > :05:05.treatment. The ribs on the right side and my hand. Nearly crushed. It
:05:06. > :05:13.was the worst climbing accident to have happened on Everest. 16 Sherpa
:05:14. > :05:19.climbers died, nine others were injured. 47 children were left
:05:20. > :05:24.orphaned. The tragedy made the headlines for a couple of days and
:05:25. > :05:31.then was largely forgotten by the outside world. I reported on the
:05:32. > :05:36.avalanche but I knew that there was more to the story. Following the
:05:37. > :05:40.deaths or the remaining Sherpas left the mountain and refused to climb
:05:41. > :05:46.Everest for the rest of the season. That spontaneous protest has turned
:05:47. > :05:51.into a campaign to improve their pay and working conditions. To find out
:05:52. > :05:57.what is really going on in the Sherpa community, you have to go
:05:58. > :06:07.where they live, so I am heading to the remote valley in the Khumbu
:06:08. > :06:20.region, where many of the Sherpas come from.
:06:21. > :06:39.2.5 days walk brought me to the village of Thame. Here, I met Pema
:06:40. > :06:48.Chhepal Sherpa. He and his brother were working on Everest. It was his
:06:49. > :07:08.first time on the mountain. Then the avalanche struck. His brother,
:07:09. > :07:10.Tenzing, was struck. Pema Chhepal Sherpa was left to break the news to
:07:11. > :07:21.the family. What kind of person was your
:07:22. > :08:06.brother? Hears is a familiar story. There are
:08:07. > :08:09.around 10,000 Sherpas working in the mountaineering industry in Nepal and
:08:10. > :08:13.most of them come from a similar back ground. The next day, along the
:08:14. > :08:19.valley, I heard about another victim. I have been told that in
:08:20. > :08:25.their house over there is an old lady, a widow, whose son died in the
:08:26. > :08:46.Everest avalanche. I'm going to go there now and up to her. As is the
:08:47. > :08:56.custom after a death, a lama is there to carry out a one`day long
:08:57. > :09:03.prayer ritual. Mingma Lhamu Sherpa is on her own. Her husband has died.
:09:04. > :09:10.Her first son was killed on Everest. After his stealth come `` after his
:09:11. > :09:29.death, her second son went to the mountain. Now he is dead as well. My
:09:30. > :09:41.mind is heavy. But what is the use? I have to keep smiling to face the
:09:42. > :09:43.situation. Mingma is still fighting to come to terms with the fact that
:09:44. > :10:07.her son will not be coming home. And that is the heart of the
:10:08. > :10:14.dilemma. The more Sherpa families I talk to, the more I realise that
:10:15. > :10:17.they don't have a choice. There is little other work for them so they
:10:18. > :10:32.have to take what is offered, knowing the risks. On my journey, I
:10:33. > :10:38.came to Namche, the gateway to the trail up to base camp. Around 30,000
:10:39. > :10:43.foreigners come through here every year, trekking or climbing in the
:10:44. > :10:49.Everest region. Everest has become the money mountain but the Sherpas
:10:50. > :10:55.have no say in how the lucrative industry is controlled or operated.
:10:56. > :11:02.At the local monastery, I meet a group of Sherpas. In a good season,
:11:03. > :11:07.they can make $5,000 per walk in a country where the average income is
:11:08. > :11:13.$650 per year. It is good money but it is dangerous work. Most of the
:11:14. > :11:21.Sherpas are fillings, hired by agents in Kathmandu who dictate
:11:22. > :11:23.their terms and pay. Those who formed the backbone of the industry
:11:24. > :12:51.feel powerless, impotent and ignorant.
:12:52. > :12:55.I wanted to meet one man who has watched the industry grow since the
:12:56. > :13:13.early days. last surviving member of the
:13:14. > :13:22.historic 1953 expedition. That is me. Edmund Hillary is there. Back
:13:23. > :13:24.then, they had the mountain to themselves. It is very different
:13:25. > :13:44.now. So what do you think the government
:13:45. > :13:47.can do about this overcrowding on the Mt, people being killed,
:13:48. > :14:31.tragedies and all that? But it isn't just the numbers
:14:32. > :14:34.counting Mt Everest which is causing concern in the Sherpas community.
:14:35. > :14:38.During my journey through this region, I have become aware of a
:14:39. > :14:45.more fundamental anxiety. Respect for the Mt. The Sherpas are
:14:46. > :14:53.Buddhist. They believe that Mt Everest holds the spirit of a
:14:54. > :14:58.goddess. The earth mother. And a growing commercialisation of the
:14:59. > :15:06.mountain is making them angry. At the monastery here, this man
:15:07. > :15:08.believes that the avalanche might have been the Mt showing her
:15:09. > :15:58.displeasure. His views are heartfelt, and many
:15:59. > :16:06.Sherpas told me they do feel uneasy about the commercialisation of the
:16:07. > :16:13.Mt. But they need to work. Normally, at this time of year, this area is
:16:14. > :16:23.busy with expedition equipment and airlifted in and out. It is
:16:24. > :16:30.virtually deserted. No work, no money. Following a disaster like the
:16:31. > :16:39.avalanche in April, under Nepalese law, the government must pay. At
:16:40. > :16:42.first, officials promised $400 to each family. After widespread
:16:43. > :16:52.criticism they now say it will be $5,000. But is any of this money
:16:53. > :16:55.actually being paid out? This man, whose brother died, says his family
:16:56. > :16:57.have heard nothing about compensation. They fear there may be
:16:58. > :17:39.left out altogether. `` they may. This woman has received some
:17:40. > :17:43.compensation, but not from the government. The foreign
:17:44. > :17:47.mountaineering company her son was working for when he died gave her
:17:48. > :18:44.$2000. That money has already been spent.
:18:45. > :19:01.If I could find these people just by asking around the area, why couldn't
:19:02. > :19:09.the Nepalese officials? Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Only 100 miles
:19:10. > :19:17.from the valley where these people live. But it is a world away. I
:19:18. > :19:22.arranged to meet the Minister of Finance. I wanted to know why the
:19:23. > :19:28.government has been so slow to respond to the tragedy. But the
:19:29. > :19:33.minister insists the compensation is being dealt with, and the industry
:19:34. > :19:40.will be reformed. I have said we already gave approval to it. And we
:19:41. > :19:43.have expressed that compensation programme. We are ready to make
:19:44. > :19:50.necessary arrangements to improve the conditions. But then it is
:19:51. > :19:57.moving slowly. Whether it is slow or quick. To the families of those, to
:19:58. > :20:04.the mother who has already lost two sons on the mountains, and has had
:20:05. > :20:11.to struggle for her own life, what message do you have? We know, we are
:20:12. > :20:16.very sorry about this situation. I extend my heartfelt condolences. And
:20:17. > :20:21.the government will offer them necessary assistance. The minister
:20:22. > :20:25.also says the Sherpas' welfare is not just the responsibility of the
:20:26. > :20:29.government. The problem is they are employed by the mountaineers. Is it
:20:30. > :20:37.not the responsibility of the mountaineering community, who are
:20:38. > :20:43.mainly from foreign countries, to ensure that everything could happen
:20:44. > :20:48.much better. I have talked to foreign expedition operators. They
:20:49. > :20:50.say the problem is lack of regulation. That is the
:20:51. > :21:07.responsibility of the government. And so, the buck is passed around,
:21:08. > :21:12.and nothing changes for the Sherpas. Back in this region, families are
:21:13. > :21:17.still waiting to hear about compensation from the government.
:21:18. > :21:25.Experience has taught them that pledges and promises from officials
:21:26. > :22:02.count for little here. They might as well be whispered to the wind.
:22:03. > :22:07.For this woman and other bereaved relatives, the day`to`day reality of
:22:08. > :22:32.just getting by is what preoccupies them.
:22:33. > :22:39.20 years ago, one of the first stories are ever reported was the
:22:40. > :22:44.plight of the Sherpas. Their grievances have not changed since
:22:45. > :22:47.then. Two decades on, what has changed was that the operators and
:22:48. > :22:54.agents who hire them have thrived and prospered. But what this
:22:55. > :22:59.accident has done is galvanise the Sherpas, to make their voices heard.
:23:00. > :23:21.And maybe, just maybe, that is a start.
:23:22. > :23:26.Hi there. We have some decent weather just around the corner for
:23:27. > :23:28.this weekend. But before we get that, overnight tonight, a
:23:29. > :23:31.north`westerly breeze will push some cloud across Scotland. Otherwise dry
:23:32. > :23:34.night with patchy cloud continuing to across the skies. Not a cold
:23:35. > :23:47.night, for all of us temperatures stay in double figures. 12 to 14
:23:48. > :23:48.degrees in the larger towns and