Kenneth Bigley: Not the typical expat

Kenneth Bigley does not fit the mould of the typical ex-patriate lured to the Middle East by the prospect of generous perks and a tax-free salary.

It was the death of his teenage son in a traffic accident that led the grief-stricken engineer to seek a new life abroad. Now that life hangs in the balance as Bigley's family pleads with his Iraqi abductors to show mercy and release the 62-year-old Englishman.

His brother Paul told Reuters: "When his son died, Ken told me 'I have no life any more.'"

Source: [Reuters]

The son was knocked down and killed by a lorry 18 years ago when cycling to the bank to pay in his pocket money. "Ken then had to make the decision to have the life-support machine turned off. It was horrendous. It absolutely destroyed the whole family," his brother said.

"He said to me 'Get me out of here. I have got to get some fresh air.' He wanted to start afresh." It was yet another new beginning for Bigley, who in the 1960s had emigrated with his first wife Margaret to Australia where he worked as an engineer. They subsequently moved to New Zealand but then, overcome by homesickness, returned to Britain.

They were happily running a supermarket on Merseyside when his wife was threatened by hammer-wielding robbers. The traumatised couple moved to Somerset in southwest England and were running a pub when the tragedy struck. Under the strain of grieving for his lost son, Bigley's marriage crumbled.

With his brother's help and contacts, he headed off to the Middle East almost 20 years ago. "The money was not a concern for him at all," Bigley said of his brother who went to work in Dubai, Oman, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. "He every much enjoyed working in the Arab world."

Paul Bigley, who himself worked for 30 years all over the Middle East on engineering contracts, had received training on how to handle himself if taken hostage when working in the Lebanon during the civil war there.

"I showed Ken what I had learned about how you behave. I passed everything on to him. I would hope he is using one or two of my tips right now," Bigley said.

Holidaying in Thailand eight years ago, Kenneth Bigley met his current wife, Sombat. "Ken was planning to retire in the next six weeks or so. He and his wife are building a house in Thailand," Bigley said.