The escalating tension in the Middle East has completely disrupted the travel plans of many Mijeños who are currently trapped in the United Arab Emirates. In addition to the closure of airspace caused by the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, there is the anguish of experiencing the bombings first-hand, an extreme situation shared by both a family from the municipality and a young student currently in the area. The married couple, José Muñoz and Olga Romero, remain in the Emirati city with their three daughters, aged 14, 12 and 9, unable to take the flight back to Spain, which was scheduled for the night of Sunday 1st of March. “We were in Abu Dhabi and moved to Dubai thinking that being close to the airport would give us peace of mind, but days are passing and there is very little movement”, Muñoz told Mijas Comunicación on Tuesday 3rd of March.

 

The family is living through the uncertainty from their hotel. “Technically we are safe here but our safety depends on a missile shield working”, the father acknowledged, admitting that the embassy has offered reassurance by stating that the Emirati defence system is “one of the most advanced in the world”. Faced with this deadlock, they have even considered alternatives such as organising a land evacuation to neighbouring Oman, where Muscat airport remains operational. “We don’t want to flee in panic, but we believe more could be done”, Muñoz stated. At the time of going to press, the family remains stranded and “awaiting a repatriation flight that the embassy says could be very soon; we are just waiting for it to be safe”, Muñoz said. 

“The worst situation of my life”

A similar sense of anguish is recounted by Noelia Belmonte, a 23-year-old woman from Mijas with whom Mijas Comunicación has also been in contact and who was in Dubai completing a master’s internship when the attacks began. Her testimony reflects the panic experienced on the 28th of February, when what initially sounded like construction noises turned out to be the first bombings of the city.

“You could hear missiles tearing through the air, I even managed to record two of them. One was intercepted, but the other did hit the ground because we heard the explosion. I think it was the one that fell on the Palm Jumeirah”, says the young woman, who lives in that well-known coastal area.

According to Belmonte, the situation worsened in the early hours of the morning when missile alerts sounded on mobile phones across the city, ordering people to move away from windows and seek shelter on the lower floors. “It was a moment of absolute panic, the worst experience of my life. Everyone was running, screaming, with bags... I did the same, I grabbed a bag with my passport, water, biscuits and we headed to the ground floor”, she recalls. 

The night turned into a nightmare when, amid the confusion and lack of official information, a drone hit a hotel opposite her accommodation. “We saw the orange smoke and started running to take cover in the corridors. We couldn’t sleep all night, we could hear military jets and explosions, it was terrifying”, she adds.

Now that her internship is over, she only wants to return to Spain. “There’s nothing left for me to do here. Flights are slowly resuming, but only a few. I’m alone, I have no one, and I just want to go back to Spain to be with my family and end this nightmare”, confesses Belmonte, while acknowledging the effectiveness of the local armed forces in intercepting most of the projectiles. 

Follow-up from Mijas

Faced with this complex situation, which affects an estimated 30,000 Spanish citizens in the region, the Town Hall is monitoring the situation of its residents. The mayoress, Ana Mata (PP), contacted the Muñoz-Romero family directly to check on their well-being, confirming via social media that they are safe.

The mayoress assured that she is aware that “the Andalusian Regional Government is making arrangements to ensure that Andalusians trapped in the conflict zone can return home soon and in complete safety”, expressing her hope that their return will take place as soon as possible.

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