“Whatever I’m putting into this bag, that’s all I’m going to have”: Irish expats on the war they never anticipated.
By Tara McGivern
When Claire Kellaghan landed back in Ireland from Abu Dhabi this week, she was walking away from a war that had unexpectedly reached her home in the United Arab Emirates. But she was also walking away from her apartment, her job as a teacher, her friends, and a life she had built there over the past three years.
What’s more, her return might not have happened, had the flight not taken off when it did: “We got into the air… I think two minutes after we got off the runway a missile had attacked the airport so the airport was shut down,” she told Galway Pulse from her home in Offaly, just days after leaving the county.
“All other flights out were cancelled or delayed. We were literally the last flight out [that day].”
Kellaghan was in her apartment when she heard the first explosion as Iran launched a retaliatory strike after the US’ and Israel’s attack on Iran.
“I think by the time the second bang came we all knew something serious was going on. We looked outside the window, we couldn’t see anything from the balcony. One of the girls in an apartment on the other side of the building could actually see two separate interceptions right over our building,” Kellaghan said.
“We could see where the interceptors had actually made contact with the missiles. It just looked like white smoke in the sky.”
What followed for Kelleghan and her fellow expats were two nights on high alert: “You just don’t know when it’s coming.”
Iranian strikes are focusing primarily on US military bases, however, debris from interceptors has caused damage to other infrastructure. Since attacks began, four people have been killed and more than 100 injured in the Emirates.
“I know they were trying to target the US bases but, with the sounds and everything it seems closer to you than it actually is,” she explained. “My school has a sister school, right beside the US base… they really got it hard: they’ve had glass shattered and doors are shaking.”
Despite all that has happened, the decision to leave Abu Dhabi is a tough one: “It’s the fear of not getting back in, we have contracts here. We don’t know what will happen.”
“Amidst this financial insecurity, there is also the associated cost of cancelled travel plans: “I feel bad complaining when there’s so many things going on,” Kellaghan said.
Communication from the Irish embassy has been poor, Kellaghan says: “It was my dad who told me about the flights out of Oman…The only thing I heard is that they said to register with the embassy. I got an email a day later to say what the expectations are to stay inside etc. And if you want to leave, if that’s something you’re interested in, there’s a phone number there to help you.”
Back home in Ireland, Claire’s family were worried. “My dad was saying; look this is time now for you to maybe come home for good regardless of what’s happening.”
But for Claire, leaving Abu Dhabi isn’t something she would even consider — had it not been for her sister’s upcoming wedding, she might not have left: “our lives are here, our homes are [there]…whatever I’m putting into this bag, thats all I’m going to have.”
