MANILA: For many Filipino migrants across the Persian Gulf, the war arrived first as a sound: a deep thud in the distance, then another and another – loud enough to rattle nerves even kilometres away.
The war has pushed them into a state of cautious vigilance – staying home, drawing curtains, avoiding windows, and keeping their phones fully charged and their passports within arm’s reach.
Yet, few are considering a flight home.
Some have put down deep roots in the Gulf; most have no other means of supporting their families back in the Philippines. So they stay, digging in, waiting for the conflict to boil over, convinced the wait will not be long.
The missiles and drones roared above Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, just after midnight on March 1.
“There was an emergency broadcast alert at around 12.40am. Then, 10 minutes later, we heard three loud blasts… They were far, but they were really loud, so we panicked,” Jazen Javier, 49, a quality analyst and trainer, told The Straits Times.
Hours later, there was another attack. Then word got out that a building was hit by a drone.
He said he and his wife decided to hitch a ride with a friend to get home rather than take the bus. They weren’t sure if the buses and trains would keep rolling.
Highways and streets that were normally heavy with foot traffic were unusually quiet. There were reports of panic buying and people getting cash out of automated teller machines.
Popular attractions like Sea World in Abu Dhabi and Global Village Dubai were empty.
By March 3, though, the situation had more or less returned to normal, even as a cat-and-mouse game involving missiles, drones and interceptors still occasionally played out in the sky.
“We’re still having some anxiety because the drone attacks have been indiscriminate. You don’t know where they’ll fall, where they’ll hit,” said Javier.
But the initial fear and panic had ebbed, he said, especially after they saw how effective the UAE’s air defence systems had been against hostile projectiles.
“Confidence is high because of the interception capability of their Thaad (missile) system, and the readiness of their civil defence. We are all praises for them,” he said, referring to the UAE government.
The panic buying and the rush to withdraw cash were short-lived. People are again taking the trains.
Javier said he was not surprised by the UAE’s readiness to deal with the current crisis, as he was already in Dubai during the Covid-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2022.
“They took care of us,” he said.
Still, measures remained in place to keep everyone safe.
Many were still sheltering in place.
Some banks saw disruptions after drones hit two of tech giant Amazon’s data centres in the UAE, and had asked their employees, like Mr Javier, to work from home for now.
Others, though, like those working in hotels and hospitals, have to be on-site.
“We have shifts. We need to go to work. We were instructed to show up for our patients. We just have to be doubly careful while we are outside,” Ms Sheryl Palacios-Manalo, a healthcare worker in Abu Dhabi, told the online news site Rappler.
Joserine Samson-Brogan, a dentist, said on her Facebook page that she already had a “bug-out bag” that contains some clothes and essentials ready in case she is instructed to evacuate.
She lives just 40 minutes from a US base and the Jebel Ali port, which Iran has targeted.
Sally Mallari, a personal assistant to an Emirati businessman, said she tries as much as she can to stay clear of windows and public spaeces.
“The main risk is falling debris,” she said.
Filipinos are taking these same precautions elsewhere in the Gulf.
Professor Jeromel Dela Rosa Lara, who teaches journalism and Arabic literature in Jordan, said large missile fragments and projectile debris had been falling out of the sky.
Many are avoiding areas that are near the US embassy in Amman, Jordan, and other potential targets elsewhere
Frankie Boton, an electrical engineer, said he had been telling those in online support groups to have their passports and other important work documents, as well as some clothing and essential items, ready at the drop of a hat in case they are instructed to leave.
But most expect to stay put, and few are entertaining the idea of packing up their bags and flying back to the Philippines.
“What can we expect there? Nothing,” Javier, who has been working in the UAE for about eight years, said.
“I agree with a post I saw on Facebook that said while we are vulnerable here to physical harm and to work disruptions, it is worse to have to go back to the Philippines where we’ll never make as much as what we do now here,” he said.
Over 2.4 million Filipinos are working and living across the Middle East, with a vast majority – close to 2 million – of them in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Fatimah, a former teacher in the Philippines who married a Bahraini and has lived in Bahrain for decades, said it is her home now.
She requested not to be identified by her full name so as not to draw the attention of Bahrain’s security service.
She said she has had to shelter in place. “We don’t go out unless it’s necessary.”
Asked if it would be better for her to fly to the Philippines and stay there for now, she replied: “The Philippines is my second home. Bahrain is where I raised a family. This is where I will have to make a stand.” - The Straits Times/ANN
