Conflict in the Middle East has left tourists stranded far from home, scrambling to rebook canceled flights, and facing mounting hotel bills. Some are turning to GoFundMe to help cover the costs.
Business Insider has identified at least 28 active GoFundMe campaigns raising money for accommodation and flights home.
At least a dozen of these specify the need to cover out-of-pocket hotel expenses or to secure alternative lodging in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
In some cases, people are launching the GoFundMe campaigns for themselves. In others, people say they are creating the campaigns on behalf of family members.
The fundraising goals range from about $660 to $15,000. Some fundraisers have raised nothing, a handful have brought in more than $5,000, while most have raised amounts in the low thousands.
‘No way home and no way to continue to pay for our accommodations’
Shanice Day, a stylist from Houston, is stranded in Dubai with a close friend after her flight home from her 30th birthday trip was canceled. She has been unable to secure another flight to Texas and said on Tuesday that she has been paying for a five-star hotel near Jumeirah Beach Residence in the meantime.
In a GoFundMe campaign launched by her travel companion, Remy Thomas, the pair wrote: “We’ve now been stuck in the Middle East for extended days with virtually no resources, support, or clear timeframe for when we’ll be able to leave.”
At the time of reporting, the campaign had raised more than $9,500 of its $11,000 goal.
“I know it’s going to take me a while to build up the courage to travel again,” Day told Business Insider.
Clifford Heard, an American who also appears to be stranded in Dubai, is trying to raise $7,000 to cover the cost of rebooking flights and accommodation for him and his wife.
“We have no way home and no way to continue to pay for our accommodations due to the US’s current situation with Iran,” his campaign description reads. The couple has raised more than $5,600 so far.
Evan Raugust, a Texan who also appears to be stuck in Dubai, had raised over $2,000 of his $4,000 goal at the time of reporting.
“I have already lost thousands of dollars in flights and hotel expenses, and the uncertainty of how long this crisis will last is overwhelming,” he said in his GoFundMe description. “Each day brings new challenges as I try to secure emergency lodging, food, and transportation while waiting for a safe opportunity to return home.”
In Qatar, Chris Simpson said he and his wife had their flights home to Kuwait canceled while on a trip to Doha. “We do not know how long we will be stranded, and accommodation costs will start to add up the longer we are here,” he wrote in the campaign description. The campaign, which has a $3,000 goal, has raised more than $1,900.
Business Insider contacted all the fundraisers for comment, but did not hear back.
Cancellations and confusion
The travel chaos began on Saturday, after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, prompting countries such as Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar to close their airspace.
Ongoing missile and drone strikes across the region have led to the cancellations of tens of thousands of flights in and out of the Middle East since February 28, aviation analytics firm Cirium said Monday evening.
Earlier this week, the US State Department advised citizens in the Middle East to evacuate “by commercial means.”
Some embassies initially told Americans they couldn’t help them get out. On Wednesday, however, the State Department said it was making charter flights for US citizens available across the Middle East.
Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic, temporarily suspended all flights over the weekend, though some cargo and repatriation flights have since resumed.
Do you have a story to share about being stranded in the Middle East? Contact this reporter at [email protected].
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