The dangers of Iraq have come home to us in a new way since Alamo resident Douglas Wood was taken hostage by terrorists demanding that Australia begin to withdraw troops from Iraq. Wood, a 63-year-old Australian, is married to an American and has a home in Alamo although he worked overseas most of his life. We were already aware of the dangers our military face every day. But since Wood’s capture, I’ve heard people voice the sentiment: Why would someone choose to work in such a dangerous place?
Years ago we lived in Saudi Arabia when my husband was business manager for an American construction company building hospitals, schools and residential blocks for the Saudi government. We met different types of expatriates, some young couples like ourselves, overseas temporarily for the adventure and the pay. Others were experienced engineers and construction supervisors who had come straight from Vietnam. One had managed the evacuation from the U.S. Embassy when South Vietnam fell. They liked being part of history and seemed to have thrived on the excitement. But mostly they liked international life and they moved where the work was. They became immune to the dangers.
We were living in Bangkok during the first Gulf War, and the International School was closed for two weeks after terrorist threats targeted American Embassy children. We knew it was dangerous but we stayed because it was our home. A few years later the Thai military staged a coup. A teacher’s aide from my daughter’s class, a gentle man from New Zealand who was studying Buddhism, was killed by a stray bullet when he went out to buy food for some monks living near a site of protests. But again we didn’t feel it was dangerous enough to leave the country.
Even in times of peace, developing countries don’t have the safety awareness of the U.S. In Jeddah, I saw a snorkeler killed by a speedboat in a bay where boats and swimmers were mingling freely. In Bangkok we went to a restaurant to celebrate a Thai holiday and people were setting off fireworks among the tables. I didn’t enjoy that dinner – but I didn’t leave either. You get used to this lack of regulation and accept it. Also, due to language difficulties and custom differences, you don’t always understand what is going on around you so you stop trying to control your environment and go with the flow. It’s all part of living overseas – the challenges and continual cultural changes as you adapt your life to fit in with a different society.
After my husband experienced bombings when he was doing business in Johannesburg and in Colombo, he said he thought perhaps he’d had enough of overseas work, that no amount of pay was worth hunkering down on the floor in fear. But the threats passed and he continued to enjoy international business.
It is disturbing to see a man who tended his yard in peaceful Alamo being held captive by terrorists in Iraq. He apparently was part of the overseas work force that goes were the work is – be it Vietnam or the Mideast. Why was he there? It appears he was a professional doing his job and the work was in Iraq. In this changing world, he was very far from the safety of home.
Community Briefs: Tango and Jazz at City Center | Alamo and Danville road closuresApril 3, 2026 9:31 am
