“I’m doing the same routine: malls are open. I’m going to the mall, or going to the grocery today,” she said. “I don’t see any panic from people.”
One of the most recent videos she posted was her making plans for Eid Al-Fitr while taking a leisurely stroll a few blocks away from Dubai International Financial Center, where an Iranian drone attacked one of the office buildings.
A similar sense of reassurance was projected by an 18-year-old German resident, Juli, who helped launch a TikTok trend with a video asking, “You live in Dubai, aren’t you scared?” The trend prompted questions online about whether it was part of a paid government campaign.
In an interview with TIME, Juli denied being paid to post the video. She said, however, she remains worried about the possibility of further escalation between Iran and the UAE.
“If it does escalate, in my opinion, we are all in this, not just us here,” she said. “So one can only hope and pray for the best.”