Far from home, Indian students in Dubai feel safe: 'We have faith in the UAE government'

Dubai: For a group of Indian students studying in the UAE right now, the past few days have been unlike anything they expected when they arrived here.

Despite all of that, most of them want to stay. They feel safe. And they have no plans to leave.

Ask any of them how they are coping, and the answer is almost always the same: each other.

For most of the students, it was the first evening that hit the hardest.

Anurag Debnath, who is from Kolkata, described watching missile interceptions from near his college campus, IMT Dubai. "Two to three missile interceptions near our college sky itself," he recalled. "We went indoors immediately."

Later that night, a government alert came through on their phones asking them to move to underground shelter. The students gathered in the basement parking of their building and stayed there for an hour.

Shreyansh Swarnakar, also from Kolkata, had a similar experience. "There was a missile interception right above our campus," he said. "The first night was scary."

For Ipsita Rodali Neog, who travelled to Dubai from Assam for the first time, it was all completely new territory. "We never had any experience like this and it was all of a sudden," she said. "But we have seen how the government is taking proactive action. It has installed relief in us."

Later that night, a government alert came through on their phones asking them to move to underground shelter. The students gathered in the basement parking of their building and stayed there for an hour.

Shreyansh Swarnakar, also from Kolkata, had a similar experience. "There was a missile interception right above our campus," he said. "The first night was scary."

For Ipsita Rodali Neog, who travelled to Dubai from Assam for the first time, it was all completely new territory. "We never had any experience like this and it was all of a sudden," she said. "But we have seen how the government is taking proactive action. It has installed relief in us."

One of the most immediate instincts for every student was to reach for their phone and call home.

Anurag kept his family in Kolkata updated in real time. During the first evening of interceptions, his family watched events unfold live over a video call with him.

"That was a moment to remember," he said.

Ashish Bisht, from New Delhi, found his own way to keep the mood light for his parents. Rather than sending worried messages, he kept sending memes and jokes over social media. "I think joking in serious situations is my coping mechanism," he said. And it worked. When his parents saw him laughing on video calls, they took it as the reassurance they needed.

Almost every student mentioned the same frustration: news coverage back in India had been sensationalising the situation, leaving families far more alarmed than the reality on the ground warranted. Shreyansh noted that his parents knew this and came to him directly for updates. Ashish said he simply showed his parents what things actually looked like from where he was standing.

What is striking is just how quickly the initial fear gave way to calm and confidence, largely thanks to how the UAE authorities have handled things.

Anurag has been watching patrol vans stationed near his campus and says the past two days have been calm.

"We have faith in the UAE government and all the authorities who are guarding us 24x7," he said. He has decided to stay until his classes resume after the Ramadan holiday.

Ashish Bisht echoed that sense of reassurance. "So far the city is fairly calm and there is no real disturbance in the day-to-day working of our lives," he said. He has exams approaching mid-month and, if the situation continues to improve, plans to remain in the UAE to sit them.

Shreyansh added that the college infrastructure itself has given students and families confidence. "Our college has the basic infrastructure required to shelter us in case the situation worsens."

What stands out most from each of these accounts is not the fear. It is how quickly the students turned towards each other.

IMT Dubai closed their gates after 7pm to keep everyone safe indoors. Student councils sent updates and gathered people in safe spaces whenever needed. Basements were used as shelters. Resources were shared. And in the hours in between, students played cricket and football on indoor grounds, watched movies together, played table tennis and pool, and went to the library.

"We are keeping each other motivated by avoiding sharing false rumours and engaging in sports," Anurag said. "Sometimes we are watching movies together to forget the moments of conflict we witnessed."

Shreyansh described how the group shifted from anxiety to something more settled over time. "They gradually eased into it," he said of the friends who had been stranded after flights were cancelled.

For Ipsita, the student community made all the difference to how she felt day to day. "Seeing everyone come together, offering support, sharing resources, and simply being there for one another has created a strong sense of unity and reassurance," she said.

Ashish put it simply: "Having friends on the campus does help taking your mind off from such things."

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Areeba Hashmi is a trainee at Gulf News.