ABU DHABI (United Arab Emirates) (ITALPRESS) – People in the United Arab Emirates send reassuring signals, despite the geopolitical tension of recent days in the Middle East. “Here in Dubai is all quiet and everything proceeds as before,” said Professor Abdallah Raweh, a cardio surgeon at the Gemelli Hospital in Dubai and a professor at the Catholic Church in Rome. “There are no restrictions and we hope that the airport will be reopened soon,” he adds. The situation under control that you breathe in Dubai, the economic center of the Emirates, is also shared in the political capital Abu Dhabi, as told by several foreigners, Italians and not, who live there. “The situation is serious and fluid but those who live here feel protected because they work in a context of great reliability and safety organization,” said Susanna Iacona-Salafia, Director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Abu Dhabi. Iacona-Salafia added: “We all follow the directions of the authorities, as far as possible, trying to live a normal life by dedicating ourselves to our activities. In these cases we must maintain calm and lucidity and avoid or feed all sorts of panic. The situation is quiet, everything works with efficiency as always. I feel calm and safe.” “The situation has always been quiet in Abu Dhabi,” said Professor Antonello Maruotti, the Ordinary of Statistics at the LUMSA University, who is currently at the KHALIFA University in Dubai where he heads the microtechnology centre. “Missili did not fall, but only debris”, due to the interception of defence systems “which are very efficient”.
As evidence of the feeling of tranquility, Maruotti told that “Saturday at 12 there were the first boats, but at the end of fasting for Ramadan, 300 people made the Iftar – the meal that interrupts fasting – and no one was afraid.” On the night between Saturday and Sunday “the authorities sent the alarm on the phones, inviting to stay closed”. Today people have resumed everyday life even though “the city is deserted compared to the usual”, because “all trust the government”, he added. Personally, Maruotti feels “safe, although the feeling of having missiles and drones over the head is not pleasant. The Emirates is the safest country in the world. We are living a normal life, with precautions, but the efficiency of the reassuring authorities.” Maruotti noted that “there is a difference in perception between us (residents) and tourists who have found themselves scattered”. “The airlines paid two nights at the hotel and then the expenses were born of the Ministry of Culture,” he recalled, saying that “the airport of Abu Dhabi is open today with flights from Etihad to different destinations.” The teacher is continuing his work in Abu Dhabi, but remotely. The Emiratine authorities have prepared three days of distance lessons for schools and universities.
Andrea Macciò, professor of Physics at the New York University in Abu Dhabi. “I would describe the situation as quiet, but surreal, especially now after the first uncertain days. In the weekend we lived quite normally (although closed in the house), but feeling in the distance (and sometimes not so far) the bursts of aerial defenses that intercepted missiles and drones, and leave as the only trace of white plums on the blue sky. Only yesterday we saw a black cloud rise from the port of Abu Dhabi, otherwise it is only noise and some dog barking”, he said. Macciò, who lives in Abu Dhabi with his family, said that “the idea of leaving the country has not even touched it.” “My family and I are serene, we do not perceive an immediate danger, but only a great uncertainty. The situation is surreal, Saturday and Sunday we were talking about what we will eat at dinner, and when they resume the lessons in the presence, and then came the barrel of the drones intercepted“, he said telling moments of daily life.
The Physics teacher added that “the embassy has issued several communications through social media providing emergency numbers. From what I have seen online, the perception of danger seems to be more marked for tourists and visitors (who mainly want to return home) than for us residents, despite the times of this conflict are all to be defined, as well as the impact on our daily life in the coming weeks.” The journalist Imad El Atrache, a Lebanese special envoy of Sky News Arabia, is also sharing the feeling of tranquility. “Life is almost normal, business activities normally proceed, you see fewer people around,” he said at Italpress, confirming that “there are no restrictions on travel, but only advice to avoid open areas.” The authorities send alerts “on the phone, even if the phone is off, and in the messages there are tips how to get away from the windows”. “Without rhetoric, we can say that the Emirates are the safest country in the world when there are emergency situations,” he concluded.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
