Right back at the beginning, back at the first offer letter, the first discussion about travel, the first work permit application, and the very first inkling of an expatriate life – there was a contract.
“What does International Mobile mean exactly?” I’d spent years working in recruitment but the term they’d used sounded far more James Bond than Human Resources.
“It means we move wherever they want, whenever they want.” G was trying to mask his excitement, this was exactly what he had dreamed of. He’d told me on our very first date that he wanted to work for The Big Blue, that he wanted to travel.
The James Bond part of the contract was the sexy bit. The armed guards, the lack of communications, the old Russian planes that landed in remote locations. His eyes twinkled when he spoke about the training which involved jumping out of the helicopter into the sea. He raced off for last minute vaccinations trying to pretend that it was an inconvenience, it wasn’t, it was all part of the intoxication.
“Do we really want to go anywhere though?” I was keen to live in Asia, but I wasn’t so sure about Angola, Yemen or Algeria (neither was my mother).
“They won’t move a family to Algeria. If I had to go there, I’d have to go by myself. Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen.”
We’ve had our moments of worry, just small ones. I lost G for a couple of days in Nigeria, thankfully he popped up again. I’ve received the “It’s all okay” phone calls after the bomb scares in the office. I’ve watched the news of a plane crash and rushed to my computer to double check his itinerary. I’ve had the thought, the quiet lingering thought, the one that stays in the back of the mind until the text or phone call arrives. Landed. Home. On my way.
G glanced up from his laptop late last week and asked if I’d read about the hostage crises in Algeria, when he listed the companies involved I knew he’d be wondering if anyone he knew was there. I wasn’t, I was thinking about their partners.
The women who were watching every news story, waiting for a phone call. The women who’d already been counting the days. The women who woke up in an empty bed, the women who put the bins out, washed the car and went to parent/teacher night on their own. The women who’d sat down with their partners and made a decision to take the assignment. The same women who asked if it was dangerous and were reassured that there were guards and safety precautions in place.
My thoughts are with those women.
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Great post – they are all alike these men, after the adventure of it all – they love it…and I guess we do too, but not all of it. I have waited for many a reassuring sms in Siberia and now Nigeria and it never gets easier the longer we are internationally mobile – if anything it gets harder and for me the fear still rises when I haven’t received my ‘landed’ sms. My thoughts too are with those women! S x
Heartbreaking Kirst. Just imagining how these women are feeling is heartrending.
Those women were my mother and now me. It’s been a part of my life since the day I was born. My dad still travels endlessly – Peru this month, Iraq next month, West Africa the month after. Now I’ve got a husband doing it and find myself googling things like ‘kidnappings’.
Once again you have used such beautiful words to tell a story. My girlfriend had a family member involved in a kidnapping several years ago and now that she has been able to tell me the full story I take so much more notice of these news items. The family heartbreak is unbelievable. Those left behind.
Can’t even imagine the worry. X Claire
I have so related to this post of yours. My son is a soldier and everytime there is a death or an injury to an Aussie Digger my thoughts also go immediately to the women in their lives. My son came home physically in one piece but many don’t.
It’s so sad when lives are lost. Accidents/sicknesses/old age are easier to deal with, but being killed in cold blood! It sickens me. And it sickens me too when the word Islam is associated with such people. They claim to be Muslim but are certainly far from it. No God fearing person of any religion would carry out such an act. They are guests working in the country! They are supposed to be protected! The world is getting worse. Worries me what it will be like for our children when they are adults.
I totally agree – my thoughts are first with those women and their families, feeling how hard it must be for them not knowing and having to tell their children what is or is not going on
I can’t imagine the worry. While I may have considered a risky posting with my husband before we had kids, I wouldn’t dream of it now.