AL HAYAT - Iran strikes send VIP Dubai influencers 'back to reality'

Since early on Saturday, foreigners in the United Arab Emirates have been sharing videos of plumes of smoke rising above the skyscrapers and expressing their shock that the usual haven of stability was under attack.

"OMG!" Israeli wellness influencer Hofit Golan exclaims repeatedly in a video that shows a building near her apartment in flames.

British content creator Will Bailey was updating his Instagram and TikTok followers by filming the trails of smoke left by missiles and interceptor rockets in Dubai's skyline.

"That was metres away from us," he says in a video filmed near the Fairmont hotel, which was hit by a strike on Saturday.

Other influencers were less composed, with France's Maeva Ghennam who, waving her passport around, told viewers she "screamed hysterically" when she heard a strike.

"France, protect us!" said Ghennam, who rose to fame via reality television.

Some viewers have criticised the "total disconnect" of the "bling-bling world" from the geopolitical realities of the Middle East, where Iran was retaliating for a massive wave of US-Israeli attacks.

"We're seeing a 'back-to-reality' moment for influencers who settled" in Dubai, according to journalist Emma Ferey, whose 2024 novel "Emirage" chronicles the Emirati capital's influencer scene.

According to Ferey, in this "under-informed world... everything seems easy".

Now, "the bubble is starting to burst", she said.

- 'Talking politics' -

On Sunday, the French embassy in the UAE reiterated to its nationals in the country that it was not possible to leave because Emirati airspace remained closed until further notice.

It urged French citizens there to "strictly follow the safety instructions: stay at home (and) keep away from windows, doors and open areas".

Dubai has in recent years become a hive of influencers, entrepreneurs and millionaires, enticed by the business-friendly and income tax-free city and the lavish lifestyles on offer.

The city of nearly four million inhabitants -- 90 percent of whom are foreigners -- also hosts one of the busiest airports in the world.

It appeared to have been hit on Saturday, with officials saying four staff were injured and a concourse damaged during "an incident".

In a video posted on Saturday on a beach full of sunbathers, real estate consultant Deepti Mallik struck a reassuring tone, telling viewers that there is "nothing to be scared of".

"I feel this country takes the security of its residents and tourists very seriously," she said.

Ferey said "You can sense anxiety among influencers... even though they know perfectly well that talking politics -- or worse, geopolitics -- means risking losing followers or being hit by a wave of harassment".

Content creators are "contractually bound" to brands, which obliges them to keep posting no matter what, according to the journalist.

"Even if it's just for shampoo, the video has to go out. It's this disconnect that can come across as indecent in the eyes of the public -- to keep making money while the world is burning."

Benjamin Samat, a French influencer living in Dubai, took to Instagram to lash out at "those who on social media are rejoicing that the French are going through this".

Samat added that he wouldn't want "anyone to be woken up by missiles exploding in the sky in the middle of the night".

M.Sabhan--al-Hayat