Dubai residents resigned but optimistic in face of Iran war

Ten days after Israel and the US launched bombing and missile strikes on Iran, the tales from Dubai workers and residents are of cash foregone and worries over the length of the conflict but also of determination and good humour, with no thoughts of flight. 

The Eid al-Fitr holiday is due to start next week after the fasting month of Ramadan. Schools are taking their spring holiday after pupils were schooled remotely in the first week of the conflict. 

Nayla Al Khaja, a 48-year-old Emirati film director, said she moved her children to a family farm in the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah because “the kids were a little bit stressed out with the sounds since we are very, very close to the port… but we’ll be back home soon.” Al Khaja’s main concern is that she and her family catch a flight to South Africa later this week.

Dalia Khalife 33, a real estate broker originally from Beirut, said her team had been told to work from home all last week but were allowed to come in on Thursday.

“It feels a bit like ‘back to school’ now. It’s not a mandatory work from home situation any more,” Khalife said. 

She said buyers in what has been a hot property market are “getting greedy”, demanding up to 30 percent off asking prices. She admits that there are far fewer transactions than in February.

“Those would be-buyers have been hanging for like a week and I was just waiting for them to give the green light. They probably have expectations on price reductions but we haven’t really talked about it. But they’re probably going to leverage the situation.”

Gail Clough is the 61-year-old British co-founder of The Laughter Factory, the UAE’s oldest comedy club.

Ticket sales for the events at the weekend remained strong and only about 20 percent short of a sellout, and Clough said the audience was in good form: “My biggest challenge now is going to be getting people to get on a plane to come here. I think that will depend on how long this goes on for.”

Trefor Murphy, the CEO of UAE recruitment company Cooper Fitch, said the past week has been “a real rollercoaster”: “You look up and see stuff happening and wonder what the hell is going on. But then you know because you hear the news. Now you’re hearing bangs and you don’t even look up any more.

“We had a couple of approaches [last week] about going back to the office and we felt it was a bit too soon. But everyone wanted to go back. So we had a vote and 90 percent of people wanted to return to the office.”

Wam

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The UAE has been heavily targeted by Iran. As of Monday, UAE air defence had detected 253 ballistic missiles fired by the Islamic Republic, of which 233 were destroyed. Eighteen fell in the sea and two landed within the territory of the UAE.

Air defence also detected 1,440 Iranian drones, of which 1,359 were intercepted, and 81 fell within the territory of the UAE. Eight cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed.

There have been four deaths and 112 people wounded from Iranian attacks since the start of hostilities, the UAE Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.

In the Fahidi historical district on Dubai Creek, Baz, the Pakistani manager of a shawl and fabric shop, is resigned but not perturbed. 

“This is life,” Baz said of the conflict. Like many others, he said that business has been badly affected because March is peak tourist season. Rent of the shop in the Souk al-Seef is AED800 a week yet he has sold only AED500-600 worth of goods since the war started.

A suspected Iranian drone struck the US consulate behind the Souk overnight on Saturday but few of the workers in the tourist area were at work. Baz said he heard about it from a friend when he was at home in Deira on the other side of the Creek.

“I thought ‘My God. Really?'”

Dr Valentina Faia, medical director at the BioPsychoSocial Clinic at Dubai’s Knowledge Village, said her staff are continuing regular scheduled appointments with clients, but the majority have now moved online. The clinic has also offered free emergency psychiatric and psychological support to tourists who were stranded in Dubai.

“Our child services team is also offering support groups for both children and parents in response to requests,” she said.

Mahboob, a taxi driver, however has money on his mind. He said that drivers can earn AED4,500 in a month in Ramadan. “It is normally very busy. But now, no. We can earn normally 100 to 120 [a day] but not now,” Mahboob said.

Taxi drivers in Dubai typically earn commission on a sliding scale. The magic number is AED500 a day. Once above that they earn 30 percent or more of what they bring in.

“We can earn 35 percent (commission) but at the moment we take 20 to 30 dirhams (a day).”

Sanduni Kariosam, a 40-year old Sri Lankan cleaner, who has lived in Dubai for nearly 20 years, said that she has been out to work every day despite the Iranian strikes.

“The first three days the streets were quiet but now it is back to normal. They say it is going to go on for another two weeks but I don’t know.

“I used to look at the news but I have stopped watching. There is so much fake news.”