Current events stir memories
By Caitlyn Kelleher

"During Desert Storm, Scud Missiles rained down on Riyadh and the Easter Province. Initially, there was concern that they held deadly gas, so we were issued gas masks." - ROGER GERARD

As the bombings in Lebanon and Israel and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan dominate world news, two Westminster residents

JOURNAL STAFF WRITER can't help but think back on their time in Saudi Arabia.

Roger and Ann Gerard lived in the Middle Eastern country for 10 years including during Desert Storm in the early 1990s.

"We weren't scared in what they call the first Gulf War," Ann said. "Now, when I look back on it, it is very scary that we were part of it."

Roger, 69, said watching the news over the last few weeks, and even years, has brought back the memories of sitting in the bomb shelter under his stairs, the shaking of the ground as the bombs hit as well as the memories of friends still in the region.

"You would hear the Patriots (missiles) breaking the sound

barrier," Roger said. "You couldn't hear the bomb sirens."

He said there was 20 seconds from the time he heard the missile being shot, to the explosion. Some nights the couple would sleep in the bomb shelter that housed lawn chairs, pillows and blankets, water and a radio.

"You knew more here in the US about what was going on in Saudi Arabia (then we did there)," Ann, 74, said.

Despite the conditions of war, the couple enjoyed their years in the Middle East and their travel's around the world. They are proud of the fact they have traveled around the world seven times.

Roger worked for a variety of companies when in Saudi Arabia including Fairchild - a Saudi construction company - Intel and at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center.

Ann worked at the hospital and research center and then as the educational director of the Handicapped Children's Center, in Riyadh.

The couple lived in Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 1992, when they returned to North Central Massachusetts because Roger's mother was seriously ill.

The couple lived for nine years in Riyadh, which is located closer to the center of the country, directly south of the Kuwait

Roger takes no time to think about whether he would return to Saudi Arabia, saying immediately that he would.

Ann's answer is the same but she thinks about it a little longer. One of the reasons is because she is suffering from Multiple System Atrophy, which causes Parkinson's like symptoms, so she is not as comfortable traveling.

She says despite the war, the area is "peaceful" and her time there was educational. Ann said the atmosphere was very global, because there were people from a wide variety of countries.

The couple thinks that Americans don't have a good grasp of the reasons for the existing power struggles among the Middle Eastern countries and the effects the US involvement is having in them.

The couple said having lived as part of the culture, they have an easier time understanding the other side of things but there were still religious issues and power issues they failed to understand.

"We find it very difficult to figure out how they think," Ann said of many aspects of the Saudi customs.

Two main issues Americans have a hard time understanding are the memories of a history that America doesn't focus on, such as the Crusades and any time before them.

"They don't see us (Americans) as separate from Europeans," Anne said.

The other aspect of the culture that Americans do not grasp, she said, is that the power of the old tribal culture where the oldest man makes the decision and everyone accepts it.

For example, when Roger's then 16-year-old daughter visited he was completely responsible for her.

"I could've gotten kicked out of the kingdom because she walked around (with a young man)," he said.

-  - Caitlyn Kelleher can be reached at (978) 827-3386, ext. 15, or e-mail: caitlynkelleher@aol.com