Waterford people shelter 'in place' as missiles in skies overhead
Marina and beach view of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai. Waterford people living in UAE have been advised to shelter in place as the conflict continues. Photo: iStock
According to the Irish Times, there are up to 22,000 Irish citizens currently in the United Arab Emirates. Since US President Donald Trump's 'Operation Epic Fury' got underway on March 1, Irish people living in Dubai have reported witnessing explosions above their heads.
It is understood that the UAE has managed to intercept all of the missiles sent by Iran to attack the American military base in Abu Dhabi, however, that information makes it no less surreal for the people living in the normally peaceful region.
Although the UAE government is very strict about people speaking to the press, the managed to get in contact with some people living in the area about their experiences, as well as one family who felt the effects of the conflict as far as India.
The Irish government has organised a number of flights to go to Dubai to try and bring some of the hundreds of Irish holiday-makers back home but there are a lot of Waterford people living in Dubai who have settled there permanently.
Many of them came to Dubai in search of a better quality of life, attracted by the weather, good wages and job opportunities. Little did they know, they would be caught in the middle of a conflict that could last months, if not years.
Ciarán Walsh is a recruiter for a real estate company in Dubai. He has been living in the United Arab Emirates for the past three years. He moved over with his girlfriend who works as a teacher.
He told the Waterford News & Star that he was “loving” Dubai.
However, the past week has been “scary”.
Incidentally, another woman from Waterford who works as a teacher lives in the apartment above them. Since the war broke out, she has been staying with Ciarán and his girlfriend in their apartment.
“When you hear an explosion overhead, it's not what you’re used to. Your body goes into panic a bit," says Ciarán.
"The worst part about the first couple of days was that you knew it was coming in waves. We noticed the pattern was that you’d get a flurry of five or six of them and then there’d be a break for a few hours so straight after it was back to normal. But then at hour three and four, you were on edge waiting for the next one to come.
“When you start getting the phone alerts, that kind of freaks you out as well.”
Ciarán lives on the 21st storey in his building and worries that it may be safer to find somewhere on the ground floor.
He told the Waterford News & Star that people on his Instagram feed “are trying to say ‘it’s normal’ but it's not.”
He is glad that he is in a group chat with people “who are all in the exact same boat”.
Ciarán’s office has been closed since the war broke out, and his girlfriend has been teaching remotely. He hasn’t been leaving his apartment “at all”.
For the first few days, Ciarán and his girlfriend put their mattress up against the window.
“When the first few go off, you can’t help it, you’re up looking out the window. You’re seeing them falling from the sky. But then you learn if you cover up all the windows, put on the telly and wait for it all to blow over.”
When asked if he would get on a flight organised by the Irish government to bring Irish people back to Ireland, he explained that “a lot of it is repatriation for people that are stuck here on holidays. Personally, I feel safer here than I would on a plane.”
Ciarán has no plans to return to Ireland as of now.
“At the end of the day, all you’re hearing is interceptions. We’re not hearing the missiles hit anything, we’re just hearing them blow up in the sky. It’s just about wherever the debris lands. Most of it has thankfully landed in the sea."
Siobhán Crowley, her son Josh and her sister Gráinne were "stranded" in New Delhi for four days due to the conflict. Gráinne always wanted to go to India. When they finally made it happen, their dream holiday quickly turned into a nightmare. The family had flown to India with Emirates Airlines with a layover in New Delhi.
“The only reason we knew our flight was cancelled was because we kept an eye on the airport," Siobhán said. "Emirates didn’t send us an email.”
Siobhán tried to find an alternative flight home but due to the conflict, that was proving very difficult.
“I contacted the embassy and we were basically told to sit tight because it was the weekend.”
When they went to the embassy on Monday morning, “the reception we got was not what I expected as an Irish citizen who was stranded abroad.”
“I wasn’t expecting a route out to be made especially for us but just assistance trying to rebook," Siobhán said. "The advice was not to book anything and to just wait.”
Over the next two days Gráinne “got really panicked”.
“I just knew we had to get out at that stage no matter what it cost us,” Siobhán said.
She ended up applying for a Canadian and an American visa. The Canadian visa got approved faster so they booked a flight to Toronto. Altogether, it cost them €10,000 to get back to Ireland.
“In the middle of that, then, in case we didn’t get those flights, we booked an Indigo flight for the 14th of March in case we couldn’t get out. So we’re pending a refund on that one.”
Thankfully, they were able to leave Toronto airport for a little while on their layover.
Siobhán told the News & Star, “We just can’t do airports any longer.”
Overall, she and her family were stranded in India for four days with no idea of what was going to happen but “potentially it could have been two weeks before we got home if we hadn’t found our own route home”.
“We were booking hotels in the airport from night to night. We met a lot of other people in similar situations. Some of them are still stranded there because they can’t get anything under two and a half grand, and they just can’t afford it.
“Anyone who’s not staying in Dubai, they’re not concerned about getting them out.”
Waterford man, Gary Condon has been living in Dubai for 13 years. He spoke to Damien Tiernan on WLRfm. He said he saw missiles being shot from Iran, directed at the American military base in Abu Dhabi. He said that Dubai intercepts the missiles “before they can do any damage”.
For Iran to hit the largest American military base in the UAE in Abu Dhabi, it must pass Dubai.
“We’ve all been advised to stay indoors and shelter in place. Schools are now online, the airports are closed."
Gary said that he believes that Iran is just displaying a show of force and does not intend to harm any civilians.
“We were in a shopping mall when it kicked off and I was a bit nervous and wanted to get home because we didn’t know the extent of it. If you’re in a large populated area, you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before. I used to travel to the Middle East quite a bit. It’s quite a common thing, you’d hear this in Saudi [Arabia] but this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this in Dubai.
“Coming from Waterford, that’s not something you grow up around. Obviously, I’m trying to stay strong in front of the kids but it gives you that sickening feeling in the bottom of your stomach. You’re not used to seeing rockets flying over your house."
Gary has two children, five and eight, and they are understandably frightened by the situation.
“The government has been great,” he added.
Gary explained that there has been very good communication to residents, and people who have been stranded are staying in hotels free of charge.
