Man shot in Yemen recovering in hospital

www.canada.com Hanneke Brooymans and Renata D'Aliesio
The Edmonton Journal Thursday, March 20, 2003

EDMONTON - The Edmonton man who was wounded by a gunman in Yemen is in stable condition in a Swiss hospital, and his mother and pregnant wife are now with him.

Mark Edwards and three other oilfield workers employed by Nabors, a Houston-based drilling company, were shot Tuesday by a Yemeni national who later turned the gun on himself. Edwards was the sole survivor of the attack, which took place in the company's oilfield office in the northern province of Marib, about 160 kilometres northeast of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Edwards was in critical condition when he was flown to a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, Nabors's president Ziggy Meissner said Wednesday.

He said Edwards's health has improved. "He's stable. He's still in intensive care, but he's well under control, so I don't think it's life-threatening anymore.

"We are in no rush to bring him home," Meissner said from Houston, Tex. "The main thing is he's healing up. His family is there and when he's ready to go home, he's going home."

Meissner said Edwards's wife and mother are in Geneva.

Meanwhile, Edwards's next-door neighbour in Edmonton said the oilfield worker was worried about tensions in the area and was looking for another job.

"He told me he didn't want to work in that part of the world because of the situation there," said Minem Saad, a limousine driver. "He was trying hard to find another job, like in the Caribbean."

Saad said he was surprised when his wife called to say Edwards had been shot. "When that happened, I said to my wife, 'He's a tough guy. He'll be all right.' "

He said he had the odd beer with Edwards and often gave him lifts to the airport. Their wives are close friends, he said.

Edwards' wife, Ninotsaka, is pregnant and has been sad and worried a lot, Saad said. "The night before the accident happened she said to my wife, 'I wish he would come back because of the war that's coming.' "

Tuesday's shooting is not considered connected to the American war against Iraq or terrorism.

Edwards, who has two boys from a previous marriage, met his wife while working in Venezuela.

He had been working for Nabors in Yemen since January 2002, and was scheduled to return to Edmonton on April 4.

Edwards would typically work about six weeks in Yemen, then spend a month at home, said Saad.

Richard Durand, who has been Edwards's friend for 10 years, said the news of the shooting shocked him. He often asked his friend if it was safe working in the Middle East.

"I always kidded with him that he should duck those bullets. To think that he actually took one really bothers me."

Edwards has a very strong character and hardly anything ever bothered him, Durand said. "He was catching scorpions out there. He likes a brush with danger. For him, that's a highlight."

Doug Scheelar, a former employer of Edwards, also remembers him as a "very happy-go-lucky guy."

Work on the rig where Edwards was shot has been suspended until Nabors and police complete their investigation, Meissner said.

The company operates six rigs in Yemen, with 50 to 60 workers on each rig. About a quarter of the workers are foreigners.

Nabors has operated in Yemen since the 1980s. Meissner said no other company workers have died there.

Overall, Yemen is a safe place to work, said Meissner. "Yes, you have to deal with the local tribes and sheiks and it is a wild country, no question. But we enjoy good relationships there with the locals. I consider Yemen not any more dangerous than other places in the world."

Over the years, Foreign Affairs has often warned Canadians against travelling to Yemen. On Feb. 21, the federal department advised Canadians to defer travelling to Yemen until further notice. And last week Foreign Affairs advised Canadians to leave if their presence is not essential.

Between 1996 and 2001, about 157 foreigners have been kidnapped, said the Yemen Gateway, a non-partisan resource for researchers, students and journalists.

In 1993, Edmontonian Mike Schmitz, a salesman for an oil-supply firm, was abducted and taken hostage about 100 kilometres south of the Yemeni capital. The kidnappers were using Schmitz as a bargaining tool in a bid to reclaim land confiscated by the government.

Schmitz was eventually released unharmed.

rd'aliesio@thejournal.canwest.com hbrooymans@thejournal.canwest.com