I arrived into Dubai and checked Google news for Tel Aviv where I will be landing in just a few hours. Splashed across the front news headlines: “Rocket interception seen in sky above Tel Aviv”, “Five wounded in Tel Aviv area rocket strikes”, “Tel Aviv under Hezbollah attack?”, “Power outage in Tel Aviv areas after attack damages high-voltage lines”
Not used to seeing these kinds of headlines for a city in which I’m living, I call my cousin where I will be staying the first night. His voice: calm, assured. And perhaps with a subtle and warm smile knowing that I was coming from a different reality in the US.
Where Americans may feel alarm knowing that their city was under rocket attack, this was a way of life in this part of the world. He says that he was in the middle of story time before bed with his child, so they had to stop to go to the safe room when he heard sirens for a few minutes, and then they returned to the bedroom a few minutes later to finish storybook. That’s life. My instinctual reaction was to be concerned, but I feel the degrees an American may feel concern is on quite different scale from those living in the middle east, who experience real and potential threats on a regular basis. Storytime and life continues amongst sirens and safe rooms.
I text him and we coordinate when I’ll be landing. He replies, “Welcome to the middle east!”
Costa Cafe in Dubai airport.
layover
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