‘It’s definitely frightening’: Halifax woman stuck in Qatar trying to get home

A Halifax woman in stranded in Qatar as the conflict in the Middle East escalates.

A Halifax woman is trying to get home after being stuck in Qatar as the conflict in the Middle East escalates.

Maryam Kareem, 27, was on her way to see her grandmother in Iraq who recently had a stroke. She and her mother booked their trip on Feb. 14 to fly out on Feb. 26.

“We obviously checked the news and everything. There were no travel advisories or warnings to the region. We thought we were OK,” said Kareem, who is currently in Doha, Qatar.

They arrived there Friday evening and had their flight to Iraq scheduled for Sunday.

“This whole thing started Saturday morning. We received multiple alerts on our phones, and we later find out that our flight to Iraq has been cancelled,” she said.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday. Since then, Iran has unleashed thousands of missiles and drones at Israel, American military bases and embassies, and energy facilities across the Gulf.

“It’s definitely frightening and unsettling. We hear the strikes and the missiles, while they’re being intercepted and they’re very loud,” said Kareem.

The Government of Canada issued a travel advisory for Qatar on Saturday, asking Canadians to avoid all travel to the area.

Initially, she said they were staying in a hotel near the airport, but they have since moved to a hotel in the central city area.

“We have been seeing on the news that U.K., U.S. and France citizens have been evacuated, or some evacuation measures have been put in place for them, whether that’s through crossing the borders to Saudi Arabia or crossing the border through Oman,” she said. “Based on what I have been told by the Canadian Embassy is that we can decide to move to Saudi through car, but that’s on our own discretion and might not be safe.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand warned Wednesday there are risks with ground transportation, and noted that staying put can sometimes be the safer option.

“It’s just a waiting game just to see where this will end up, and we’ve been just told to shelter in place. That’s the main recommendation,” said Kareem.

“The best that we can do is just pray and feel hopeful and try to keep contacting the Canadian Embassy just to receive some sort of support.”

Airspace is closed entirely in Qatar right now, leaving fewer options for stranded Canadians.

From their original trip, Kareem and her mother have return flights booked on March 18. Given the ongoing situation, the two are trying to come home sooner and don’t even know if those return flights will be possible.

“If we don’t get out now, we hope that we can get out by then at least to return to our families and our commitments, but I don’t know, it’s very uncertain and it keeps escalating minute by minute,” she said.

Canada hasn’t ruled out military participation in the conflict, although Prime Minister Mark Carney says the question around potential future involvement is a fundamental hypothetical.

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With files from The Canadian Press and CTVNews.ca

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