[International] US-Iran Conflict: Thousands Stranded Temporarily, Dubai Office Recalls Crisis Response to Aid Return to Taiwan
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bellala 央廣＠＠3h ago
The United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding for an end to hostilities on the 19th. The Taiwan Representative Office in Dubai recalled the most intense moments of conflict in early March, when a large number of Taiwanese travelers transiting through Dubai were forced to stay. Now that the conflict is gradually receding, the airport has resumed its flow of people. This brief yet tense evacuation assistance operation also served as a practical drill for crisis response on the diplomatic front.
In late February, the United States and Israel jointly launched airstrikes against Iran, which then retaliated, causing the situation in the Middle East to rapidly escalate in early March and leading to the closure of airspace in many Middle Eastern countries. Dubai was one of the main areas affected, prompting the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Dubai to immediately enter a state of emergency response.
However, for Director Chen Chun-chi, the real challenge was not on the battlefield, but in the airport and transit halls. What made the office even more anxious was the difficulty in tracking the list of independent travelers, making it impossible to follow up.
On the eve of the signing of the US-Iran memorandum, Chen Chun-chi recalled in a phone interview with CNA reporters that 90% of the Taiwanese stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the time were transit passengers. Most of them were on short stays and were trapped due to flight cancellations caused by the conflict.
Chen stated that the period between February 28th and March 5th was the most chaotic. Middle Eastern airspace was almost completely closed, flights were grounded or in disarray, and Taiwanese travelers urgently called the office's emergency assistance hotline, asking how to leave the country quickly.
At one point, the number of Taiwanese travelers eager to leave the UAE approached a thousand. Calling the customer service lines of various airlines tested their patience, often after long waits of 2 to 3 hours without connection, further heightening the tension for those stranded. One traveler even lost their temper and vented at the office.
With air traffic completely disrupted, the office began to consider alternative solutions. After several assessments and discussions with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Sultanate of Oman, they decided to plan a "land evacuation route," which involved traveling by car from the UAE to Muscat, the capital of Oman, and then transferring to a flight back to Taiwan.
Office Secretary Chai Chieh-hsiu urgently arranged for vehicles while searching for and booking potential flights. Ultimately, over 10 Taiwanese travelers, accompanied by Chai, traveled for about 10 hours by car across the border to Oman. With the assistance of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Oman, they completed border clearance procedures and successfully transferred to a flight from Muscat back to Taiwan.
"It was hard to even find a car back then; everyone wanted to escape quickly," said Chen Chun-chi.
The situation took a turn on March 5th. Due to the large number of people flying to Taipei, Emirates was the first to resume a daily flight to Taipei, becoming one of the first destinations to restart flights. As flights gradually resumed, the stranded travelers began to be processed quickly, with most of the evacuation completed within 4 to 6 days.
In addition, the office systematically began posting safety messages on social media (such as Facebook) and advised Taiwanese residents to avoid going out and to stay away from windows. Chen Chun-chi specifically pointed out that the UAE government's civil defense system is very comprehensive, and Iran's targets were mostly US military bases and US corporate facilities. Therefore, during that period, ordinary people were mainly avoiding not missiles themselves, but the debris scattered by the UAE military during missile interception.
Compared to the transit Taiwanese travelers, Taiwanese businessmen and expatriates residing locally responded to the war with considerable calmness. Among the more than 300 Taiwanese registered with the Dubai office, the vast majority maintained their normal daily routines and saw no need to evacuate.
"In the conflict between Israel and Iran last June, everyone had already learned from experience, knowing where the attacks would be and how to avoid them," Chen Chun-chi explained the origin of this calm attitude from the perspective of local residents.
Chen told CNA that during this sudden crisis, "uncertainty" was always the biggest challenge. The inability to predict when flights would resume or whether the situation would worsen forced the office to prepare both air and land evacuation plans to cope with the worst-case scenario.
Chai Chieh-hsiu stated that when facing anxious travelers, office staff had to constantly communicate patiently and provide reassurance. For several consecutive days, the emergency hotline rang non-stop. Office staff answered calls day and night, explaining the situation and comforting callers.
Looking back at the entire experience, Chen Chun-chi believes that the biggest limitation was "the difficulty in tracking the total number of people on the move." Transit passengers were not included in the existing reporting system, making crisis response more challenging. He analyzed that strengthening reporting and communication mechanisms in the future should be an important issue that all countries must face as global mobility increases. (Editor: Liu Hsiang-hua)
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=215656
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