Sirens warning of possible missile strikes have jolted daily life in Kuwait and Bahrain, prompting schools and universities to switch to remote learning as residents describe sleepless nights, booming interceptions and a surge of community support.
Jake McAllister, originally from Portstewart in Derry, has lived in Kuwait for more than seven years and is now principal of an international school. He said he had “never felt unsafe” since arriving in 2018 — until the past several days.
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McAllister had just returned from a mid-term break in Egypt with his wife, Marlene, and their almost eight-month-old daughter, Elena, when sirens sounded less than 24 hours after they got home. Explosions, he said, have continued into this week.
“I think last night was a pretty sleepless night for a lot of people,” he said. “From almost everyone I’ve spoken to, and from our experience as well, you know we were hearing the explosions, we’re hearing the sirens going off in the middle of the night.”
While his family’s exposure has been limited to sound and shockwaves, McAllister said they have “seen debris fall from the sky a couple of times.”
“We can’t say exactly what it is that’s coming down,” he said. “But from what we’re hearing and seeing from people, it seems like the air defence (system) is doing its job.”
He described a mix of tension and solidarity among expatriates and locals. People are “a bit tense” and “apprehensive,” he said, but there has also been “great community spirit,” with “everyone checking in on everyone else” to make sure they are all right.
Education systems are adjusting rapidly in Kuwait, according to McAllister, who said there had been a “humongous effort” from schools to move lessons online “to ensure that students aren’t missing out on their education.”
Asked whether his family would consider leaving, McAllister called it “early days” and said he hoped the situation would “settle down.”
Across the water in Bahrain, Dr. Paul O’Farrell, a lecturer in biochemistry who moved there 20 years ago, said he feels “relatively safe” with his family, though they remain cautious as the regional conflict unfolds.
“We’re quite far removed from the American bases,” O’Farrell said. “But we do hear noises, a lot of the noises we are told are interceptions rather than bombs landing and patriot missiles taking off to intercept things before they get here.”
O’Farrell said he and his family are “in no rush to try and run away and escape to anywhere,” though they have begun making “some plans” in case they are told to evacuate.
As with schools in Kuwait, education in Bahrain is shifting online. O’Farrell said his 17-year-old daughter is attending classes remotely, and “from today,” the university where he works has pivoted to remote lectures as well.
“We’re keeping our eyes open and adjusting to the vagaries of what’s happening at the moment,” he said.
Residents in both countries described a new cadence to daily life: scanning group chats, listening for sirens, checking on neighbors and colleagues, and adapting to digital classrooms. For now, they say, air defenses appear to be intercepting airborne threats, and communities are holding together — alert, anxious and hopeful that the current wave of danger will pass.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
