More than three decades after the Gulf War shook the region, long-term residents of the UAE who lived here during the conflict are again experiencing a period of uncertainty.
Iranian missile and drone attacks have targeted and hit the UAE, killing four people since February 28. The air raids have disrupted flights, pushed oil prices higher and raised fears of a wider war.
For residents who lived through the upheaval of the Gulf War (August 1990-February 1991) and remain in the Emirates today, these attacks have brought back memories of how the country navigated the dangerous period when Iraqi forces led by Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
“There was a general fear that Saddam Hussein would continue his journey deeper into the Gulf once he had conquered Kuwait,” said Dubai-based businessman Paul Oliver, who moved to the UAE in 1982 at the age of 24.
“I recall people desperate to buy gas masks due to the fear of chemical weapons that had been used during the earlier Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Businesses suffered greatly as new orders stopped and suppliers demanded cash payments.”
It was a time when the world of war intruded on everyday life. Scores of military personnel from countries such as the US and UK passed through the UAE; Kuwaiti refugees were welcomed to the country; the sky turned dark at times due to the burning oil wells in Kuwait, set ablaze by fleeing Iraqi forces; and residents gathered around television sets to watch rolling news coverage.
Ryan Trutch, who moved to the UAE in 1981 when he was seven, said many residents were worried. “There was an air of uncertainty,” said Mr Trutch, originally from the UK. “The only visible thing was the number of US, UK and European navy personnel coming into port.”
Rebecca Ferrari had been living in Kuwait with her husband, Jorge, when Iraqi forces invaded but she managed to escape and returned to the UAE at the end of 1990. She had previously moved there from the UK in the 1980s when she was in her 20s.
“We felt completely safe,” she recalled. “We heard about people leaving, getting gas masks and some neighbours in Sharjah taping up their windows. We saw American troops in Dubai but the fact is we came from Kuwait, where we saw Iraqi troops and heard gunfire. Coming here after that was a big relief.”
Life in the UAE at this time was quite different. In 1990, the country’s population was just under two million, according to the World Bank. Cities were smaller. Dubai was still centred around the Creek with skyscrapers such as Burj Khalifa yet to be built.
“Dubai in the 1980s and 1990s was like a village,” said Louay Al Samarrai, who moved to the UAE from Kuwait in 1989 when he was in his 20s. “No one had mobiles and if you wanted to go out, I just knew where to find people. That sense of community carried us through.”
Mr Al Samarrai said residents would gather around TVs to follow international news coverage, while others opened their homes to visiting military personnel before they were deployed to the war zone.
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, an Emirati columnist and researcher, wrote about the impact of the Gulf War this month in an article about the UAE’s resilience for the Fiker Institute think tank. He described how his cousins came from Kuwait to the UAE as refugees.
“Those were dark days in the Gulf,” he wrote. “Most houses had selected a ‘safe’ room that they taped up in case of a gas attack. Eventually, an international coalition ended the occupation and my cousins went back to their liberated homeland.”
More than three decades on, the UAE has changed massively. The population is now about 11 million and economic reforms, liberalised visa policies and significant investment in infrastructure, health care and education have made the country less transient.
“What feels different today is that the region is being impacted more directly,” said Vanda Sadok, originally from Portugal, who was at school in Dubai during the Gulf War.
“Another big difference is that during the Gulf War I experienced events through the eyes of a child, whereas today I view them as a mother of two young children. As a child, you don’t fully grasp what is happening around you but as a parent, you are much more aware,” said Ms Sadok.
Mr Al Samarrai, who still lives in the UAE, now with his wife and two children, said it was important to recognise the seriousness of the situation while continuing with daily life. “For us as a family, we are carrying on,” he said, before thanking the UAE for its efforts to protect everyone.
Ms Ferrari, meanwhile, said her children now live abroad but have been checking in regularly to ensure she feels safe. “We live near Sharjah Airport and we’re very happy to see Air Arabia seem to be running limited flights,” she said. “We haven’t seen or heard anything of the war apart from a distant explosion on the first day.”
Others spoke of the seriousness of the situation on the ground with direct attacks on the UAE but tempered this with resilience.
“That’s never happened with any other conflicts,” said Mr Trutch, referring to the direct attacks. “I was 500 metres away from the Fairmont The Palm last week [when the hotel was hit by debris] and that certainly scared me but … I’m not going anywhere.”
The hospitality sector is also under pressure, as tourism has been affected by fewer flights and political uncertainty. But Mr Oliver said he has been through similar situations in the past and predicted: “Confidence will quickly return.”
