Why some British expats in Dubai insist it’s business as usual – despite Iran war

Why some British expats in Dubai insist it’s business as usual – despite Iran war Amid schadenfreude back home as UK nationals express their fears, others say they are not leaving anytime soon US-Israel war on Iran – live updates It is not always seen as a positive when the ruling family of a dictatorship makes a public show of mingling among the people. On Monday, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the royal who is both president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, joined Dubai’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, for a stroll around Dubai’s mall, before settling down alongside awkward looking officials on the banquette-style seating at one of its most visible cafes. “The French kings always ate in public. I kinda like this,” one observer noted on social media. It didn’t work out for the Bourbons. At least three people, expat workers from Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, have been killed and up to 68 injured as a result of the falling debris from intercepted Iranian airstrikes directed at the Gulf states since Saturday. A dramatic explosion at the world-famous Fairmont hotel in Dubai offered a spectacle to match the headlines. Experiencing both the shock of the moment and the ensuing public relations effort from the top to sustain confidence, have been an estimated 250,000 British nationals – a diverse community of fintech entrepreneurs, the super-rich, beauty salon workers, retirees and early-career professionals, many of whom have been attracted by the UAE’s 0% rate of income tax and all-year sun. For one British expat, only a few months into his life in Dubai working in the financial services industry, Saturday morning had brought a double shock to the system. After hearing the boom of the impacts, he shared a video from the BBC with colleagues, only to be told to delete it. The UAE had issued a warning that sharing unverified content was an imprisonable offence. The internet also appeared to briefly go down. “I can imagine som...