As the U.S. Department of State urges Americans to leave 14 countries across the Middle East amid the widening conflict with Iran, some Americans are expressing frustration over the lack of support from their government.
Sasha Hoffman, an American living in Chicago who was vacationing in Dubai when the U.S.-Israeli military action began, initially thought she could wait out the fighting. However, after hearing President Trump say that Operation Epic Fury could last four to five weeks, her perspective changed.
“We’re honestly trapped,” she told CBS News on Tuesday. “It’s really frustrating that right now the U.S. is saying ‘Americans come home’ when in reality we can’t come home. We’ve had flights booked today, tomorrow, all of them are canceled. All of the airspace is closed through tomorrow night, now, if you’re in the UAE.”
Hoffman said she understands the need to prioritize safety but expressed concern over the lack of evacuation options. “You can’t tell us to get out and create no zone where we can all leave on commercial flights,” she added.
She also described the fear of being stuck in a warzone: “It’s terrifying. We’re not used to it in the U.S., where you just hear fighter jets going on all day long, and you certainly don’t hear the missiles actually landing and blowing up places around us. It’s just really scary. We’re really hoping to get out of here.”
In Israel, American Tamar Rubinstein, who is pregnant with twins, shared her plan to flee the area. She is taking a bus to Egypt and then flying through Europe back to her home in Chicago. Rubinstein said the journey will take approximately two and a half days.
“There’s such a lack of clarity,” she told CBS News. “So I didn’t want to get to the point where I wouldn’t be clear to travel anymore.”
Nate Bowling, an American teacher who has lived in the United Arab Emirates since 2019, spoke to CBS Philadelphia about the situation. “We hear interceptions multiple times a day. There was an alert that went off at like 3 o’clock in the morning, woke us up, and we could hear the interceptions. But we’re safe and well here right now.”
Bowling, a U.S. Air Force Reserve veteran and former National Teacher of the Year finalist, emphasized the challenges of evacuation. “There are no flights,” he said. “And to be clear about that: The United States began a war. And then, after the war began, told people to evacuate. But there are no flights, and so nobody can get out.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/americans-trying-to-evacuate-middle-east-frustrated-with-government-response/
