A Chicago woman’s Dubai birthday trip turned tense after U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran sparked regional alerts, forcing Shekinah Lee and friends into a frightening overseas wait.
By Shannon Dawson
Black America Web
https://blackamericaweb.com/
A Chicago woman’s Dubai trip turned chaotic due to regional conflict, with sightings of missiles and explosions.
A Chicago woman’s birthday getaway turned into a tense waiting game overseas. Shekinah Lee traveled to Dubai with friends to celebrate her boyfriend’s birthday, expecting sunshine and sightseeing, not emergency alerts. But the trip took a frightening turn after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran, escalating tensions across the region in the early hours of Feb. 28.
She’s sheltering in place amid the chaos.
Lee said her phone began buzzing with emergency notifications as the situation unfolded. She has been documenting the experience on social media, including a March 1 TikTok update in which she explained that she was sheltering in place as the conflict affected neighboring Middle Eastern countries.
“We’ve seen the missiles with our own two eyes. We’ve heard the explosions,” Lee told fans in her video shared Sunday.
During an interview with ABC 7 News, Lee also went into more detail about her frightening experience.
“When we were out sightseeing, we saw missiles in the air. And we were afraid; we were overwhelmed. We didn’t really know what to do,” Lee said. “That is the first time we have ever seen anything like that. Stuff like that doesn’t happen in Chicago.”
Despite the fear, Lee said she and her friends are safe. Hotel staff provided food, water, and blankets as a precaution. She has since relocated to another hotel in Dubai while waiting for the next available flight back to Chicago.
Shekinah Lee is still in Dubai as of March 2.
Lee also shared that she extended her stay for another week as she monitors travel updates. In her update shared Monday, the Chicago native filmed herself shopping at a nearby grocery store, telling fans that she was trying to purchase a few items to help crack down on costs associated with her extended stay. She has also been in contact with the U.S. Embassy, but so far no updates. The Embassy has urged her to stay sheltered in place.
As of March 2, some airlines have resumed flights to and from the United Arab Emirates, though it remains unclear when air travel across the Middle East will fully return to normal, ABC 7 News reported.
