Catalans trapped in the Persian Gulf: "We hear the missiles exploding, but people here are living normal lives"
The escalation triggered by the attack on Iran has led to the closure of airspace in much of the region
BarcelonaHejoint US-Israeli attack against Iran It had been brewing for some time in the offices of Washington and Tel Aviv, but the imminence of the offensive didn't become clear until the day before it began. This short window of opportunity and the rapid spread of the conflict, with Tehran's response against several countries in the regionThe closure of airspace has taken citizens around the world by surprise, as they were in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, whether working, on vacation, or in transit. Many are stranded, uncertain of when they will be able to return home, including some Catalans. One of them is Gerard, 27, from Ulldecona (Montsià). He had planned to travel to Catalonia from Doha on Sunday after a week in Qatar, where he had gone to visit his sister, who lives and works there. However, with the outbreak of the war, his flight, which he was also supposed to take with his father, was canceled. Since then, they have been confined without a return ticket. "We've tried to contact Qatar Airways, but the lines are jammed. We've also sent emails and tried to change our tickets through the mobile app, but it's impossible," he lamented in a video call with ARA.
Qatar is one of the countries with US bases that Iran has attacked in the last two days in response to the US-Israeli offensive, as it has also done with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait. "On Saturday, they already recommended that we go buy some things because, as a precaution, they might have to close us for two or three days," explains Gerard. Later, his sister received an alert on her phone: "The message said to go home because a missile attack was coming."
The sound of explosions has been recurring ever since. "That same Saturday, already at night, we clearly saw five or six missiles being intercepted and exploding on the horizon. It was spectacular, it was like a movie," says Gerard, who doesn't hide his unease. "At first you don't believe it because it's a situation you've never experienced, but as the hours go by you realize it's serious, and increasingly so," he adds, while expressing surprise at the "apparent normality" he sees from his window: "We hear the missiles exploding in the air, but people are open."
Jordi describes a similar feeling. He's 24 years old, from Barcelona, and has been working in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, since September as a youth basketball coach at the Dubai Basketball Academy. "After the restrictions of the first 24 hours, things are starting to return to some normality at the center," he explains in a conversation with this newspaper. However, following the authorities' instructions, he is currently in confinement, and the club where he works has suspended training. He received information about the possible missile launch from Iran just before boarding a bus to travel with players to a competition in Abu Dhabi, a trip that was ultimately canceled as a precaution.
"Seek shelter and stay away from windows"
Hours later, as night fell, an alert arrived on his mobile phone: "Possible missile threat, seek shelter immediately in the nearest building and stay away from windows, doors, and open areas," the official message read. From his accommodation, he had heard some explosions, but nothing more serious occurred. "At first, there was nervousness and the feeling of saying: we have to go back," he explains, but adds that by the following morning the situation had calmed down. "The Ministry of Defense insists in its messages that we shouldn't worry, that the defenses are working well," he says, confident that the situation will de-escalate in the coming days.
Adriana, a Catalan woman stranded in Abu Dhabi, is also keeping a close eye on how the war is developing. In statements This morning on Catalunya Ràdio She explained how the outbreak of the conflict caught her at the airport, where she had arrived from Manila (Philippines) to continue her journey to Barcelona. "We had to take a three-hour flight of stairs, and here we are," she recounted, confessing how nervous she was on Saturday because of the "loud and powerful noises" of some explosions. The airline informed her that the Emirates would pay for her accommodation and food until she could leave, and for the time being, she is staying in a hotel. "Everyone tells us it's a very safe country, that we should stay calm," she explained.
The Catalan government has not provided a figure for how many Catalans are stranded due to the escalation and unable to return to Catalonia, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has estimated that 30,000 Spanish nationals are in Middle Eastern countries, without specifying their situation. The Spanish government has reported that, while airspace remains closed, embassies will be in contact with local authorities in each country to "facilitate temporary solutions" for those affected. Catalonia does not have delegations in the region, but is working "in coordination" with the Ministry and embassies to monitor the situation, according to sources at the Catalan Ministry of Foreign Action.
