UAE Stories : How Families are dealing with the current situation

Ever since it all started on the 28th of February, families in UAE have had to deal with the situation the best that they can. The alerts, the sounds, the anxiety – as well as handling kids of different ages at home for home-schooling and then a spring break that came a week early. We’ve reached out to the community to see if there were any families keen to share their stories of how they’ve dealt with it.

Here’s Dina’s story, and how she and her family have dealt with the situation since. More stories to be published…..

Dina’s Story | Dubai Resident, Family of 3 in Arabian Ranches

My name is Dina Habib. I am a Researcher in Immigration Studies, while my husband Karim Yusuf is the Founder and Creative Partner of Reference Studio – Dubai. We are a small family of 3 and our daughter Nina is 6 years old. I am Egyptian, while my husband is British-Egyptian, and we have been living and working in Dubai for the last 11 years.

In the beginning it was hard to explain to Nina what was happening. She kind of assumed the “boom” sounds were thunder and the “air quality” was bad hence we had to cancel her 6th birthday party at Kite beach when the war started, but after attending a community webinar organized by one of the many organizations offering psychological assistance to families, we decided to tell her a very simple truth. Age appropriate information, and instructions to keep her safe.

We moved from the Marina to the Arabian Ranches 3 community last year, and it has been the best move ever. We have a supportive community, and multiple WhatsApp groups that assist and help. From offering water to neighbors, to offering service and maintenance by people who own companies there, to pet sitting for those leaving, it has been wonderful to be here.

If you are curious, we managed to bring back Nina’s 6th birthday party and invited all her friends to our house to play instead, and it was absolutely EVERYTHING she could have wished for. Our neighbors lent us outdoor furniture, parking spots, and even brought us Kunafa for our guests. At home playdates, indoor play areas, community walks and swimming, connecting with neighbors and getting to know them better has been our go to since this started. We have also managed to organize a few Zoom meetings with Nina’s friends, and have done tons of school work at home.

We love Dubai, and have never felt more attached and connected to the city more than now. We know it will bounce back stronger, and we are happy to be here to witness it.