LONDON // Two separate attacks on Emiratis within a fortnight in the British capital have sparked fears not just among UAE nationals but in residents of the wider Arabian Gulf.
The attack at London’s Cumberland Hotel on the three Emirati sisters, Khuloud Al Najjar, 36, and her sisters Ohoud, 34, and Fatima, 31, and a second attack at a rented apartment in Paddington involving a further three Emiratis – Ali Al Tamimi, 51, his wife, 47, and a friend – were two weeks apart and isolated incidents.
But both were so violent that they sent shockwaves through Arab nationals visiting the British capital, including some who call the popular tourist spot a “second home”.
Lulwa Al Muhaisen, a 35-year-old Kuwaiti, has been staying at the Cumberland Hotel where the brutal hammer attack took place on April 6.
“I did hear about the attacks and I was terrified in the beginning,” she said. “I already had booked so I didn’t cancel and came anyway. I take all the precautions. I wouldn’t go out at night.”
Ms Al Muhaisen, a lab technologist at a Kuwaiti hospital, arrived in London on April 18 with her mother. “I came for the shopping and for the sightseeing. My favourite was the Lion King show. Everything was OK. But I was terrified to be very honest,” said Ms Al Muhaisen, who asked after the wellbeing of the three Emirati sisters.
A 37-year-old Qatari, who asked not be named, said she was a regular visitor to the capital.
“I have been coming to London since I was in my mother’s stomach,” she said, with a smile.
Honeymooning with her husband, the Qatari said she normally felt safe in central London but said the recent attacks had made her nervous.
“I heard about it yes. Of course you have to be careful,” she said. “Of course it concerns us. We have to look after ourselves.”
The attacks made her conscious about choosing her outfits and jewellery, she said.
Sahfiyu Al Qubaisi, a 40-year-old Qatari, has been visiting London for 20 years.
“I love it here,” she said with a smile, as she walked near Harrods, referring to the capital as her second home.
“I am buying everything – clothes, bags, something for the kids.”
She often spent two-and-a-half months in the capital with her mother and brother in a rented apartment.
This year she was renting in the Kensington High Street area.
Ms Al Qubaisi was aware of the two recent attacks.
“Of course we have heard,” she said with a shrug. “We are scared but we like it in London.”
She believed money was the primary focus behind both incidents.
“People have to be careful.”
Latifa Busamah, a 30-year-old from Dubai, was staying at a rented apartment for three months in London while she underwent medical treatment.
Ms Busamah, an employee at Emirates ID in customer services, said the recent attacks had made her nervous.
“It is so bad for us. If I was not having treatment I would go back to Dubai – to my home country. But I have to stay here.”
Ms Busamah, who has been in London for three months, was being visited by her aunt, sister and friend, all also of Dubai, who have been in the capital for 10 days.
“They are nervous. For two days we did not go outside. We go out in the morning, the afternoon, but at night we go back and stay at home.
“Even if someone rings for us [at] the flat ... we go to the peephole to see who it is.”
jbell@thenational.ae
