This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cody Greene, a 36-year-old from Tampa who has been in Dubai since Friday. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I arrived in Dubai Friday night local time, planning to stay for a week. I’m a business development manager at a digital ad company, and was supposed to attend a conference on Wednesday and Thursday this week. I was planning to fly home just in time for my son’s first birthday party this coming weekend.
Saturday morning, I woke up to news of the US attack. I was a little worried, but I figured that Dubai wouldn’t be involved. My wife had asked me to bring her home a gold pendant with our son’s initials on it, so I headed to a local mall to find one.
I saw a drone attack being intercepted
In the cab, I checked social media and started to see that Iran was attacking nearby Abu Dhabi. That’s when my anxiety really started kicking in. Frankly, I was really scared. I did a really shoddy job of shopping for a necklace, but I found one and got back to my hotel as fast as I could.
The wild part was that people were still out and about. The crowd in the mall just seemed unconcerned. They were so trusting of their safety.
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Courtesy of Cody Greene
Since everyone was acting so normal, I went to the beer garden at the hotel. I had a drink while looking at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. I took a selfie, and just after that, I noticed something that looked like a shooting star, followed by a small explosion. I didn’t process it at first, but later realized it was a drone attack being intercepted.
I sheltered in my bathroom for an hour
After that, the hotel made everyone stay inside. Being on X was increasing my anxiety, but I was stuck in my hotel room, so I didn’t have anything else to do.
Then, the phone’s emergency notification started going off. I live in Florida, and that happens when there’s severe weather in your immediate area. I was terrified because I thought missiles were nearby. I later learned the whole country got the alerts.
The notification said to stay away from windows, so I went into my bathroom for about an hour. I was entirely freaked out.
I’m hoping to leave on Wednesday
By Sunday, however, things seemed normal. I felt confident in the air defense system after seeing reports of how many drones and missiles it intercepted. After being a basket of nerves all weekend, I felt safe enough to get a massage and go golfing.
Courtesy of Cody Greene
Trying to get home has been difficult. My AirCanada flight on Friday has already been cancelled — plus I would like to get home sooner. My employer booked me a flight for Monday, but that was cancelled too. I’ve been on the phone a lot, but it seems like things are starting to normalize.
I haven’t heard anything from my hotel, but communication from the United Arab Emirates government, which I see on X, has been great. I’ve been very impressed with how they’ve taken care of not only citizens, but visitors here.
Right now, I have a flight booked for Wednesday with a 3 a.m departure. I can’t wait to see my wife and son.