Kiwi expat feels safe in Dubai despite US war on Iran

Mikayla Larsen, a 24-year-old New Zealander, says residents feel safe in Dubai, and her life remains calm despite the ongoing war.

Larsen moved to Dubai in search of a career opportunity a month before Iran began strikes on the United Arab Emirates.

Before the attacks, she was excited for the chance to experience what being a teacher overseas would be like but is now adjusting to the government’s defence plan while navigating her new environment.

The recent attacks made her transition more challenging than expected but she remains confident in the UAE Government’s handling of the situation and hopeful that everything will ease soon.

“As a resident here, I feel very protected and safe by our leadership and defence system," she says.

Missiles and drones are intercepted at night, but Larsen says her life in Dubai hasn't really been affected by the chaos.

“It is scary and uncertain. However, the last two nights have been a lot more calm,” she said.

She says news articles have been highlighting the hundreds of missiles and drones being intercepted overnight.

Despite this, she says they don’t hear the missiles and aren’t aware of when or where  is intercepted.

The UAE Government said its defence system stopped more than 90 per cent of Iranian missiles and drones, which gives Larsen and other residents faith in the city’s leadership.

With many schools moving classes online due to safety protocols, her role as a relief teacher has changed, with classes to operate solely online, forcing her to constantly change lesson plans.

This transition to online learning hasn’t been entirely unfamiliar to Larsen, though.

Due to COVID-19 both her and her students are used to classes being moved online, which has made the shift slightly more manageable.

“We all know what it’s like to learn and teach online so it’s something we can handle for the meantime,” she said.

Explaining the current and ongoing situations to students remains a challenge for Larsen.

“As teachers we can’t really have opinions, especially if we’re not sure on the situation so it makes it hard to explain what’s going on to students."

Even with these changes, she remains focused on her teaching career and continues to settle into life in Dubai by exploring her surroundings wherever she can.

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