Migrant workers are the first victims of the war in Israel and the Gulf

There have already been several victims among the many expatriate communities. The first death in the Jewish state from an Iranian missile was that of a Filipino caregiver. The conflict has also spread to the seas, with a seafarer killed on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman. A Pakistani, a Nepalese and a Bangladeshi citizen are the three people killed in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai (AsiaNews) - Anxiety, fear and a growing number of victims: the war launched by Israel and the United States against Iran on 28 February, with raids on Tehran and the killing of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, followed by the Islamic Republic's military response throughout the Gulf region, is, as was easily predictable, hitting migrant workers very hard.

Within this diverse community, originally from South and Southeast Asia and scattered across various areas now embroiled in war - from Israel to Kuwait, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Oman - there have already been several deaths.

And as was the case with Hamas' terrorist attack on the Jewish state on 7 October 2023, expatriates represent the “forgotten face” of a region increasingly in flames, partly because of their large numbers: according to the latest data from the ILO (International Labour Organisation), there are over 24 million expats from the continent working in the Gulf as doctors, nurses, construction workers and domestic workers.

The first official victim recorded in Israel is a 39-year-old caregiver of Filipino origin. The woman died after a missile launched by Iran pierced the Jewish state's defensive barrier and struck a residential area of Tel Aviv on the night between Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March. The explosion severely damaged two buildings, one of which had no armoured rooms inside, and also caused 27 other injuries, two of them serious.

In a video message, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed the death, adding that the victim was named Mary Ann Velazquez de Vera (pictured) and was originally from Pangasinan. She was identified by her husband, also an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Israel.

De Vera died after being hit by shrapnel while helping the elderly man she was caring for to enter the air-raid shelter. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA in Manila), there are approximately 975,000 Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 813,000 in Saudi Arabia and 250,000 in Qatar, as well as 800 in Iran and 31,000 in Israel.

Dangers, and deaths, also come from the sea: yesterday, a rocket struck the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker MKD VYOM, killing a crew member, while the vessel was sailing off the coast of Oman.

In a statement, shipowner V.Ships Asia confirmed that “the vessel suffered an explosion and subsequent fire after being hit by a suspected projectile while off the coast of Muscat, Oman, on 1 March” and “one crew member, who was in the engine room at the time of the incident, died”. The nationality of the victim was not specified, but the crew consisted almost entirely of Indian seafarers.

Three migrants, of Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationality respectively, died in the United Arab Emirates, but their identities have not been disclosed. Another 58 nationals of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Uganda, Eritrea, Lebanon and Afghanistan suffered various injuries. Among those hit by the missiles launched from Tehran were also Iranian citizens working in the Emirates.

The Abu Dhabi Ministry of Defence reports that the air force and anti-aircraft systems have so far had to counter the launch of 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 drones from the Islamic Republic since 28 February.

One of the regions watching the developments of the war with great attention and concern is Kerala, India, where families of origin are expressing great anxiety and concern for the fate of their relatives in the Gulf countries.

Several accounts seem to take the region back to the days of the Covid-19 pandemic, with workers locked in their homes in an attempt to avoid missiles and drones from Iran and unable to return home. Explosions and widespread damage increase the sense of uncertainty: “We couldn't sleep a wink on Saturday [28 February] night,” says Zaneesha Rensin, who lives in Qatar with her family. ‘My daughter and my sister's children stayed awake, huddled together, gripped by fear,’ she adds.