Always look on the bright side...
Is it not so that after a while in aviation one usually finds that keeping contact with the wife and kids is not so much of an issue? Well, so long as the alimony and child support payments go through regularly! Problem solved! And you probably thought that Management didn't really think things through.
I have kept contact with a few friends who have left the oil patch. Most of them seem to feel that they are better off out of that. Some find that the quality of life is so much better that they don't really miss the fun, excitement, cheap booze, fags and female companionship that West Africa offers. I am still thinking that one over, myself.