As regional tensions rise, a former ABC10 producer in Dubai, grapples with whether to leave for the U.S. amid State Department warnings.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the U.S. State Department urges Americans to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries immediately, some families abroad say getting out isn’t as simple as it sounds.

That includes Deema Alsaffar Patterson, a former ABC10 producer who moved to Dubai last year with her family for work as a senior journalist with Al Arabiya English.

“Dubai is known for being pretty safe, and this is something that we feel every day being here,” Patterson said. “Um, so when this regional tension started to happen, we did not see this coming, to be quite honest with you. Um, we did not think that all these Gulf countries were gonna get hit because the Gulf area in general is pretty safe.”

Amid rising tensions in the region, Patterson said deciding whether to stay in Dubai or return to Sacramento is not an easy choice.

“Right now, we are weighing the option, but we have not decided yet if we’re coming back or not,” Patterson said. “Um, so we’re still kind of thinking about this, trying to see if it’s worth coming back.”

The State Department advisory includes the United Arab Emirates, where a drone struck the U.S. Consulate in Dubai. Airports in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha closed over the weekend after they were targeted by Iranian strikes. Dubai International Airport has since resumed limited service.

Patterson said she and her family are closely monitoring developments as they consider their next move.

“We’re hoping that it’s not gonna get worse than this, that this is it. This is the peak, and it’s going to die down from there,” Patterson said. “But also, we’re being realistic about the fact that um tensions could escalate and it could get worse and worse. Um, so we’re just kinda, you know, keeping our options open and keeping an eye on the developments and hoping that we’ll be, if things were to get bad, we’ll be able to leave before it gets too bad.”

For now, she said, the family is weighing its options and watching to see what happens next.

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