Ken Bigley

[Andy008]

Having only recently found this site, I will use it as an opportunity to ask a question which has been eating at me for ages.

In October last year the British hostage Ken Bigley was murdered by terrorists in Iraq. I don't know whether a body was ever discovered, and I'm told that the UN aid worker Margaret Hassan was handed over to the same group, and also apparently murdered. Immediately after the report of Mr. Bigley's death, the Sun even went so far as to plaster it's front page with a story of how an elite SAS unit was actively looking to capture the chief terrorist (his name escapes me). There was much outpouring of grief, especially in Bigley's home city of Liverpool, and the public at large, including myself were understandably shocked at his killing.

I believe that the aid worker Margaret Hassan was Irish, and had for many years worked in Iraq delivering aid and medical care. She was even I believe married to an Iraqi national.

I am 22 years old. I spent 4 years in the Army cadets when I was younger, and just over a year in the TA. At the age of 17/18 I was fully prepared to join the Army, and in hindsight would have certainly gone to Iraq had I done so. I believe the area Bigley was in was close to that where 6 army policemen were murdered in 2003.

My question is what on earth was a 62-year man, with a wife and closely-knit family, including a frail elderly mother, and despite numerous Foreign Office warnings, doing in the most dangerous region of the most dangerous country in the world??? 

[Loosehead]

I'm afraid it was for the money. The country is full of people "making hay while the sun shines" from mercenaries to guys like Ken Bigley, wrong place wrong time for him.

The case of Mrs Hassan though she live there, married To an Iraqi.

[Hgrove]

I used to work for a huge oilfield services company which sent employees all over the world, including dangerous places.  I would say these expatriates went because they had to earn a living.  The company was greedy and did not care about their employees' safety.

[Loosehead]

I see what you meen Hgrove but surely they would not go to a war zone just because their company ordered them. The companies concerned offer huge incentives for volunteers.

Would you go for the same pay?, I think not

[andy hughes]

I understand that Mr Bigley was looking to make a last batch of cash to last himself and his family through retirement.

I am sure that anyone in his situation would weigh the prospect of the money he could earn against the risks he would be taking - and maybe come up with the answer he did. It's easy to imagine that kidnap and death are things that heppen to 'other people', until it's your own turn to be the 'other person', as happened in Mr Bigley's case.

[LiverpoolLou]

As a Liverpuddlian I  have to agree with Andy Hughes, Mr Bigley was there on his last job before retirement. He was an everyday working man, just doing what he was employed to do. As a mum myself, you don't expect your children to go before you, and it makes it worse that you have no child to bury. My heart goes out to Mrs Bigley and her family.

[Oneeyedvic]

"An everyday working man"......not may people I know work in a war torn country.

"just doing what he was employed to do" - yes and getting paid for it too.

As I did say at the time, firslt, my condolences to his family - I regret his death as much as I regret any death to any person.

However, I do feel that he took the job knowing the risks involved. This was not a perosn who chode to have a 'normal' job. Maybe our pity should go to someone who works in a typical warehouse and gets killed on the way to work, also leaving his mother, wife and children behind. This happens everyday in this country, but never makes the front page.

But to answer your original question Andy, he was making a lot of money!

[ianess]

I,m in total agreement with oneeyedvic.  Mr Bigley was doing what he wanted to do for his own personal reasons and knew the risks involved.  The manner of his death was barbaric and disgusted most of the civilised world but it was his choice. Very sad that it all went wrong.

[cassimer]

I would agree with most of you that he was simply in it for the money.
Just to add... a lot of men are taking early retirement from the army and going out to work for private security firms earning LOTS of money. What Bigley did is no different - its a sad situation but he knew exactly what he was getting into. He risked and tragically lost.

[Peter Pedant]

That fact that you are chasing money or are greedy does not mean that you deserve to die....

Look at the average barrister for Chrissakes!

Comes to think of it, what was that funny quote from henry Vi part 1?

[Oneeyedvic]

To be pedantic Peter, no one has posted anything to do with 'he deserved to die' - but every one takes risks according to how they perceive that risk.

Point is that he was aware that it was a war torn country and that there was a high chance of him being kidnapped / killed. He thought the money he could make outweighed that risk. Sorry to say but he was wrong. As stated, I do feel sorry for him, however I personally think it was blown out of proportion by the media. A person who gets killed whilst minding his own business by a drunk driver is a far worse killing IMHO.

[slimfandango]

No, it's not a far worse killing. Drink driving is bad, but in their favour, the one thing they have in their favour is that they don't drink drive in order to kill. I think you need to go down to a certain low breed of pond life to find compare with those who pick up Bigley, in order to kill him. No comparison. I'm slightly embarassed to be of the same species as the scum who killed this poor, poor man.
I'm sitting writing this in a nice warm house in Scotland, after having walked away years ago from a very vast sum of money in a dangerous country, specifically because of the danger to life and health. Bigley took the gamble. Wrong decision, in my opinion. No money covers the risk of working in most of the middle east at the moment.

[Andy008]

I think based on these answers it's perhaps interesting to think what Ken Bigley would have done for money had Iraq never been invaded, and Saddam Hussein was still in power, and the country was still in dire need of repair. 

He would still have been aged 62 and facing retirement, and no doubt in need of cash, yet I can't see Saddam as being overly happy about the British digging up his roads, or more to the point, where the money to pay them would have come from.

[morg_monster]

Ken Bigley and all the other british / american etc contract workers are housed in the 'green zone' in Baghdad which is the safe area of the city, v high security and so not as dangerous as the rest of the city.  I seem to remember hearing that he had left the safety of the green zone for some reason, and it was then that he got kidnapped.

[Insurgent]

He was there for the money plain and simple just as the soldiers and contractors are and the same reason america and britain went there. So i won't be shedding a tear for a man who chose to be there due to materialistic goals. Goals that cost the lives of thousands of innocent civilians with no real benefit to them or their country.
If the shoe was on the other foot and an occupying forcing was here in britain who can honestly say they would be fighting for their country, would we be labelled terrorists for defending ours and our own. It hypocritical to say this occupation is justified.
Ken knew the risks, thought they were worth it and was wrong.
I haven't seen any evidence to who killed him anyway. Any idiot can put a mask on and put up a banner and claim it in the name of islam. it would be pointless for Al-zarqawi to wear a mask if the west know his identity anyway.

[Andy008]

I would agree with the point.

 Interestingly, I was watching "Wall Street" on dvd last night, and one particular line stands out when Bud Fox's boss warns him that "the terrible thing about money is it makes you do things you don't want to do".

Had Bigley seen the film he might have thought twice before happily starting work in a warzone.