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.
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.
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.
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