Dubai’s deserted streets and malls; Filipinos brave bomb attacks as they go to work
By Jojo Dass
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The streets and metro were half-empty. It was the first day of a work week. It should have been teeming with people beating the morning rush.
Not today.
The malls were open but I didn’t see the usual crush of tourists, shoppers and expats. People stayed home. Some were out, but only to buy necessities at a nearby store or withdraw money from the ATM. What’s keeping the Emiratis indoors? A combined U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in the early hours of February 28, a Saturday.
In retaliation, Tehran let off a barrage ofmissiles and drones that rained on the Gulf, comprising the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. The besieged country has been fighting off jets, missiles and military firepower targeting U.S. bases across the Middle East.
It’s a clean-up drive, if you will, causing shrapnel and shards to free-fall everywhere.
Already, a Filipino caregiver has been among 58 people injured in what is being called the “Iran War.”
The state-run Emirates News Agency said the UAE Ministry of Defense has so far dealt with 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 Iranian drones since the start of the attacks. The ministry said that on the morning of the second day of the attack, UAE air force and air defense forces destroyed 20 ballistic missiles, while eight missiles fell into the sea. They also destroyed two cruise missiles and 311 drones.
The relentless firepower has struck ordinary civilians, disrupting work and lives. Some have fallen onto someone’s backyards; others have landed – and exploded – at a five-star hotel in plush Palm Jumeirah, the world-class Burj Al Arab and, yes, the concourse of Dubai International Airport’s (DXB) terminal 3.
The ministry indicated that some debris fell on various areas of the country as a result of air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles and drones, leading to damage to civilian properties.
Airports closed
The airports were closed. But it has been announced that hotels are accommodating stranded tourists and billing the government for the expenses. It was a move rarely seen in other countries, and instantly praised here.
The morning of Saturday saw everyone confused and in panic. Radio reports said attacks were launched on Iran while peace talks were in progress. By early afternoon and into the night, till the time of this writing, a tit-for-tat has ensued.
Iran fired missiles and drones; the U.S. and Israel fired back. One casualty is Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, who died with other leaders at his compound on Saturday. The news sent shivers as it could only mean the war may not be ending soon.
Sounded like thunder
This could also mean Filipinos – and other migrant – workers will have to brave going out on their way to and from work. They have no choice.
“Nakaka-nerbiyos. Parang kulog,” said healthcare worker Sheryl A. Palacios-Manalo of Abu Dhabi.
Leslie Pableo, a media practitioner and public relations specialist, said they first encountered an interception the night of February 28. They were hunkered down in bed around 12 midnight when they “heard a loud boom and saw a white flash in the sky.”
“Seeing and hearing that firsthand was something I never imagined I would experience,” she said.
A lot of people have been wondering out loud: How can they go to work like this? The metro and buses, which millions of people of different nationalities use for transportation, say it all: half-filled. So were the streets and shops.
But all too human that we are, as German philosopher, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche once said, “we will find a way in all these till it’s over, as this, too, shall pass.”
Journalist Jojo Dass has been living in Dubai for 18 years. Currently, he writes for the UAE-based Khaleej Times and contributes to Philippine publications including Rappler, GMA News Online, and The Manila Times. He also is an editorial consultant at The Global News DXB, a UAE-based social media site.
