SCROLLING through my phone on the hotel bed first thing in the morning, I was shocked—and inevitably perturbed—by headlines on missiles dashing above the Middle East sky, as the United States and Israel joined hands to strike Iran.
I had thought my Moroccan trip could bring home toms of sweet memories of the vast expanse of the Sahara and romantic Casablanca. It never crossed my mind that the journey could take me so close to a real war!
All that was in my head was that I must not be stranded in a foreign land because of the war in the Middle East; I must leave Casablanca immediately!
My family and I had planned to leave Casablanca for Kuala Lumpur via Doha on February 28 afternoon, but was soon notified by the airline that the Doha-KL flight had been canceled!
I later learned that many other airline companies had also announced cancelation of their flights to and from the Middle East.
Although the Casablanca-Doha flight was not yet canceled, we decided that transiting in Doha was too great a risk to take.
Indeed, Qatar soon announced the closure of its airspace.
All we wanted then was to leave Casablanca as soon as possible, and the only viable option seemed to be flying through Istanbul.
However, I didn’t feel quite safe and quickly contacted seasoned traveler Lee San who was then in Spain, asking about rearrangements to return to Malaysia safely, while my daughter was seeking advice from her friend at Singapore Airlines for available seats.
No one could tell how long the war was going to last. We had to leave Casablanca as soon as possible for a destination offering more and safe connections home.
And we finally came to the rational conclusion that we should instead fly to London a mere three hours away!
Casablanca was an important transit point for hordes of European refugees fleeing the Nazis en route to the United States during the Second World War.
Recalling this part of dark history standing inside the Casablanca airport with numerous pieces of luggage scattered all around me at the terminal building, I could feel the eerie resemblance of fleeing a real-life war!
I never thought I would ever retrace the footsteps of the Europeans after so many decades, doing almost the same thing in this same city!
Back then people were here to escape the Nazi gunfire, but now I only wanted to take my family out of war zone to return home safely.
Veritably, history does repeat itself, and Casablanca was now the transit point for me and my family to escape the Middle Eastern war.
Upon arrival in London, I discovered that other travelers had also converged here from many different cities seeking safe passages home, with airfares going through the roof!
An unexpected war has stranded countless of travelers in different cities across the war zone, not knowing when they can reunite with their loved ones at home.
The decision of Washington and Tel Aviv to launch military strikes against Iran in the Muslim holy fasting month has set the entire region ablaze with war risks.
Such miscalculation could significantly intensify religious sentiments of Muslims globally.
President Donald Trump will eventually have to pay a hefty price for the “victory” he claims, pushing his country to unprecedented dangers, and rendering anti-American sentiments “legitimized.”
The military operation will not make America or its allies (including Israel) any safer.
This war is no longer confined to just between US/Israel and Iran, as neighboring Arab states soon found themselves reluctantly embroiled in the conflict.
Once again, peace seems to be drifting further and further away from our world, igniting concerns over an impending World War III.
When a country can only respond to its anxiety with military actions, this speaks volumes of the reality that the superpower is abandoning diplomatic means in resolving a conflict.
And once force is perceived as the only option, countries are pushed to the edge of catastrophic military confrontation!
Politicians across the planet are all the same: they are hardly bothered about their people’s safety, and not even the tragic consequences and civilian casualties from the wars they’ve started could arouse the slightest sympathy in them.
All that they care is weapon sale and profits they could squeeze from occupied lands!
Trump is the epitome of the ugly side of humanity; it is ironic someone like him could ever fantasize about winning a Nobel Peace Prize!
Back to my “escape-the-war” ordeal, when we rushed to the check-in counter for our London flight, we were reminded by the ground staff that all foreign travelers were required to have either electronic travel authorization (ETA) or eVisa to enter the UK from February 25.
With only three hours to go before the actual departure, we scrambled to download the UK ETA app, filled in the particulars, paid the fee, and submitted our applications.
Although the system generally requires application submission at least three days before arrival, our applications were thankfully approved in merely five minutes so that we could board our London-bound flight!
Early morning February 28, I received one good and one bad news. The bad news—which wasn’t really that bad now—was the official cancelation of my Doha-KL flight. And the good news was the 6.15 percent dividend rate announced by the EPF, meaning there’ll be more dividend income in my account albeit at a slightly lower rate, which would at least partly cover the additional travel expenses my family of four unexpectedly incurred.
But most importantly, we have now returned home safely!
When we touched down at Singapore Changi Airport, an SIA flight attendant told me many of her colleagues had already been stranded in the war zone for up to five days. “You are really very lucky!” she said.
An hour later, we were back in KL. Everything that came into sight was as usual.
Although the Chinese New Year was officially over, people were still seen tossing yee sang during the day, and visiting their Muslim friends for buka puasa iftar in the evening.
Contrasting this with war sufferings in the Middle East, we should be thankful for the peace we now enjoy, something we must never take for granted!
May lasting peace, prosperity and harmony always dwell in my beloved country Malaysia. May the beauty of Malaysians celebrating our festivities together be passed down for many more generations to come!
Datuk Kuik Cheng Kang is Group Editor-in-Chief of Media Chinese International Malaysia.
