Where's Mr Wood IV
[My Australasia]
Wood faces losing eyesight
Freed Aussie hostage Douglas Wood has made his last public appearance before undergoing specialist medical treatment to ensure he does not lose his eyesight to glaucoma.
The engineer was freed nearly two weeks ago after being held captive by Iraqi insurgents for 47 days.
Mr Wood was deprived of drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis during his captivity and is now suffering side effects from returning to the medication.
Asked if his eyesight was in jeopardy, Mr Wood said: "It may be. I think however bad I am now they can stop.
"It may not be a major issue, it might be a minor issue."
As for his mental health, Mr Wood said he did not believe he was experiencing any sort of post-traumatic shock and was not undergoing any formal counselling.
Mr Wood also revealed he had lost $2 million in contracts in Iraq by leaving the country, where he was working on construction projects.
But he has ruled out a return to the country, saying it would not be fair on his family.
"I lost more than $2 million in contracts just walking in and because of the pain and anguish that my family went through when I was in there, and the efforts that you the people of Australia went through, and the taxpayers and the Government, I can't go back, it would not be fair," he said.
Despite his ordeal, Mr Wood says he remains confident that the rebuilding process in Iraq will be successful.
"They appreciate that they were liberated from Saddam. They appreciate that they've been trained in the new security and that they will be a free democratic society," he sad.
"The 95 per cent that aren't associated with the Baath Party, that's what they want."
Mr Wood says he is optimistic about Iraq's future and that his captors will be brought to justice.
A Swedish hostage held alongside Mr Wood said over the weekend that he had hired bounty hunters to find his captors.
But Mr Wood says any attempt to find the insurgents should be left to the authorities.
"I think the Iraqis, the Americans and Australians are training the Iraqi police force. As they get stronger they will be able to catch people like this," he said.
"They'll gain the respect of the community at large who'll no longer be afraid of dobbing these guys in."
Mr Wood believes his release from captivity was simply a case of good luck.
He says it is unclear whether Australian Muslim cleric Sheikh Taj el-Din Al Hilaly or others would have been able to secure his release.
"It had nothing to do directly or indirectly with anything the Mufti or actually our federal people were doing, but that's the luck of the draw," he said.
"Maybe the Mufti's plan was working and a couple of days later I might have got out. More hopefully the Australian people, special people over there, would have gotten me out the next day." ABC
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Wood faces losing eyesight
Freed Aussie hostage Douglas Wood has made his last public appearance before undergoing specialist medical treatment to ensure he does not lose his eyesight to glaucoma.
The engineer was freed nearly two weeks ago after being held captive by Iraqi insurgents for 47 days.
Mr Wood was deprived of drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis during his captivity and is now suffering side effects from returning to the medication.
Asked if his eyesight was in jeopardy, Mr Wood said: "It may be. I think however bad I am now they can stop.
"It may not be a major issue, it might be a minor issue."
As for his mental health, Mr Wood said he did not believe he was experiencing any sort of post-traumatic shock and was not undergoing any formal counselling.
Mr Wood also revealed he had lost $2 million in contracts in Iraq by leaving the country, where he was working on construction projects.
But he has ruled out a return to the country, saying it would not be fair on his family.
"I lost more than $2 million in contracts just walking in and because of the pain and anguish that my family went through when I was in there, and the efforts that you the people of Australia went through, and the taxpayers and the Government, I can't go back, it would not be fair," he said.
Despite his ordeal, Mr Wood says he remains confident that the rebuilding process in Iraq will be successful.
"They appreciate that they were liberated from Saddam. They appreciate that they've been trained in the new security and that they will be a free democratic society," he sad.
"The 95 per cent that aren't associated with the Baath Party, that's what they want."
Mr Wood says he is optimistic about Iraq's future and that his captors will be brought to justice.
A Swedish hostage held alongside Mr Wood said over the weekend that he had hired bounty hunters to find his captors.
But Mr Wood says any attempt to find the insurgents should be left to the authorities.
"I think the Iraqis, the Americans and Australians are training the Iraqi police force. As they get stronger they will be able to catch people like this," he said.
"They'll gain the respect of the community at large who'll no longer be afraid of dobbing these guys in."
Mr Wood believes his release from captivity was simply a case of good luck.
He says it is unclear whether Australian Muslim cleric Sheikh Taj el-Din Al Hilaly or others would have been able to secure his release.
"It had nothing to do directly or indirectly with anything the Mufti or actually our federal people were doing, but that's the luck of the draw," he said.
"Maybe the Mufti's plan was working and a couple of days later I might have got out. More hopefully the Australian people, special people over there, would have gotten me out the next day." ABC
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