Mar 03, 2026
3 min read
The story of volleyball players Zajcev and Salsi: "The alarm went off, then sirens and bombs, we were locked in the hotel, but we were fine"
War in the Middle East, tens of thousands of people in Modena stopped: "Drones and missiles from the sky, flights canceled for a week"
The story of two volleyball players Zaytsev and Salsi in Dubai: "The alarm bell rang, followed by sirens and bombs. We were locked in the hotel but were fine."
Dubai.From your window, the sky glows red and you hear explosions.Civil defense-style text messages arrive on your phone advising people to move to the lower floors, bunker garages and not go outside.And when you open social media, you see thousands of videos of drone fragments hitting buildings. Today there are moments of unrest across the Middle East, and especially in Dubai, due to Iran's armed response to the American and Israeli attack that resulted in the death of the theocratic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei last Saturday. There are many people from Modena. Iran launched a drone over the Emirates, a country allied with Washington and a symbol of tourism and opennesswesternThere are people who came there for work, people who live there for a while and mostly people who were there on vacation or had to stop at the airport.And now he will have to wait several days before he can return to Italy.
The story of Zaitsev
Among them is the volleyball player Ivan Zaitsev, adopted a few years ago from Madena in a yellow and blue T-shirt, today he plays for Kunea, who is in the capital of the Emirates for the Nas championship: "The anti-aircraft fire responded to the rockets from Iran at around 1 am (Friday to Saturday, to be exact), we heard the sounds of explosions and the sky, because the sky and the sky looked very similar to the sky andthe sky. the plane. Shortly before that, a warning sounded on mobile phones with an order to return home due to a missile attack nearby. Sirens sounded in the city, there were several minutes of anxiety for the whole team. They suddenly left the city, everyone locked themselves in their houses, we are in the hotel. Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, was evacuated after a drone attack. Today (yesterday, ed.) situationcalm, but not the general mood. We are all worried, afraid of other attacks, they can happen at any time." Zaitsev and his companions decided to spend the day in a hotel, since many tourists visit the capital of the Emirates: "Theoretically, we could go out," he said, "in practice, people are afraid. The embassies of the Emirates provide maximum security for all specialists.
In 24 hours, 5 thousand flights were canceled in the Middle East, and the airspace of the United Arab Emirates is also closed at the moment.A logistical nightmare that has affected many residents of Modena, whether there for tourism or work.Another former Modena volleyball star who is safely confined to the hotel is Nicola Salsi, a fixture for Cisterna also in the Emirates for the Naas tournament: «We are all fine, and this is the basic thing - calm Salsi -.When we were training, the first explosion was 15-20 kilometers from here.Then, in the evening, we saw an explosion of intercepted missiles while we were in the room.The noise was so loud that it seemed as if they were almost right next to us."
Modenaiz in Dubai
The disruption also affects many tourists who have to stop at Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world, to return to Italy.And now they are stuck waiting to fly in the skies of Dubai again.For now, everything is still.But besides tourists and athletes, there are also people from Modena who have chosen to live in Dubai.Salim Al Rifai and his family also live in Dubai, but their roots are still strong in Modena."On Saturday, we had lunch at the Dubai marina, until yesterday afternoon we heard a relaxation.Drone debris is especially dangerous, but people are calm, there is no panic.We ordered Deliveroo, went to the supermarket.In short, life is going well, let's hope everything comes back."
Locked in the garage
C’è poi chi ha scelto Dubai per vivere e si è trasferito di recente. «Io e la mia famiglia stiamo bene – racconta Vittorio, che dall’Appennino modenese si è trasferito negli Emirati – E questa è la cosa più importante. Nella notte ci è arrivato un messaggio, sia in arabo che in inglese, in cui ci consigliavano di scendere nei garage del condominio per sicurezza. Abbiamo sentito boati di esplosioni in lontananza e aerei militari passare sulle nostre teste. Dopo un paio d’ore siamo risaliti nel nostro appartamento e abbiamo dormito tranquillamente. I droni iraniani sono infatti intercettati dalla contraerea emiratina, il rischio è di essere colpiti da schegge e detriti. Oggi (ieri, ndr) la situazione era più tranquilla, certo fuori il traffico è dimezzato. Cerchiamo di uscire di casa il meno possibile, è sicuramente una situazione spiacevole. Ma non parlerei di emergenza, mio figlio andrà a scuola oggi e pian piano ritorneremo a uscire normalmente» conclude Vittorio.
