Every time M.A., a Palestinian expats in Dubai, talks to his family in Gaza, he worries that it will be the last time he hears from them. He remarked, “I have already lost a number of relatives.” “My parents have been staying somewhere else because our family home was bombed.” They visit a nearby location whenever they have the opportunity to charge their phones.
It’s becoming more challenging for expats in the UAE to communicate with their loved ones in Gaza due to disrupted mobile and Internet connections.
“My connectivity is so poor that I can only communicate with them once every few days,” M.A. complained. “And I worry about the worst every day that I can’t talk to them.”
After nearly ten years, M.A. last traveled to his hometown in 2022. He sobbed, saying, “I am so grateful that I at least have those memories to hang on to.” All I see now is devastation and death everywhere. Everyone is just waiting for their turn, according to my parents, who I recently spoke with.
M.A. is one of the thousands of Palestinians who, in the wake of a Hamas attack, are residing in the United Arab Emirates and are constantly attempting in vain to contact their family back home. For many in the besieged city, the situation is grave as the dead toll creeps closer to 10,000.
