FROM glittering skyscrapers to soft sandy beaches, Dubai seemed to have it all. 

More than a quarter of a million Brits had made it their home, attracted to the lifestyle, economic perks, and sense of opportunity. 

But on the last day of February this year, war broke out over the skies of the Middle Eastern paradise.

After Trump launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran, they struck back, targeting allies of the US in the region – including the UAE. 

Its image of safety was shattered.

With a lasting peace yet to be secured, BBC Panorama will tonight investigate whether life in the Gulf city state can ever go back to how things were before.

Among the thousands of Brits living in the country when war broke out was Alisha Tyler, originally from Bournemouth. 

The 27-year-old moved to Dubai six years ago and worked as a social media manager. 

Speaking to Panorama, she recalled the moment she first realised war had broken out. 

“It was actually in the morning. I woke up and had a few messages like, ‘Have you seen what’s going on?’” she said.

“I don’t really understand that side of things, going on social media trying to see what’s happening. 

“Then I heard a bang and I was like – what was that?”

The city of four million people had long presented itself as a safe haven, separate from the instability that normally plagues the region. 

Over the years, it proved to be a remarkable economic success story, though much of that was built off the labour of migrant workers. 

Nine in ten of its residents come from overseas, with more than half coming from India. 

“Dubai has been phenomenally successful in economics terms,” said Neil Shearing, Chief Economist at Capital Economics. 

“It’s become a logistics hub in the Middle East for trade between Asia and Europe. 

“It’s developed an enormously successful tourism sector, and liberalised itself and turned itself into a financial services centre.”

It was a haven of peace – until this year. 

It was estimated that more than 900 US and Israeli airstrikes hit Iran over a 12 hour period. 

Iran soon retaliated, and it had the UAE in its sights. 

Brits living in Dubai, like Alisha, now had missiles, drones and debris flying overhead. 

Emergency alerts came through on people’s phones, urging them to flee to shelter. 

Landmarks like the Burj al Arab hotel and the airport – the busiest airport in the world – were damaged. 

“The thoughts running through my head were: I’m a human, I enjoy life, I don’t want to die,” said Alisha. 

“When I realised what was going on, I packed a little emergency bag, with passports, water, and me and my housemates filled our car up with petrol in case we needed to drive to the border. “

Mum of two Sabrina, from Kent, had left her job in the public sector to set up a business in Dubai. 

“Sunday morning, we were all sitting in the living room and we heard the biggest interception. It shook our windows and doors. And we were like, ‘What is this?’,” she said. 

“My older kid would be like ‘What’s that?’, and the younger one would be like, ‘Oh it’s a giant stomping’.

“At night it would wake you up. I was like, why am I here with my kids, I didn’t sign up for this.”

Soon after the strikes started, restrictions were put in place, and air defence systems were put into action. 

Almost straight away, 30,000 Brits left and came back to the UK. 

On social media, images and videos of the attacks started to go viral. 

The sight of burning buildings and terrified tourists running from the beach were a stark contrast to the pristine image normally associated with the city. 

But Dubai is not a democracy. 

Its rulers clamped down, warning that taking and sharing images was illegal. 

Lawyer Radha Stirling is the founder of Detained in Dubai, an organisation which provides assistance to people who are jailed in the city and are in need of help. 

She spoke to people who fell foul of this crackdown. 

“We had the authorities going specifically to locations, and asking people on the street, can I look at your phone please, and if there happened to be a photograph in there, even if they hadn’t shared it, they were arrested,” she said. 

“We estimated that dozens of British citizens had been arrested. They were forced to sign confessions, essentially, to the allegations of cybercrime violations.

“The justification was that it could potentially give away locational details to their enemies. 

“But it was more than that. It was more about preserving the reputation of the UAE, to make it appear like it was still a safe place.”

Instead, positive social media posts started circulating. 

Many followed a similar formula, praising the UAE’s leaders for keeping them safe. 

It appeared to be a coordinated effort to counter the negative press online. 

In a statement to Panorama, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Misinformation during times of crisis can have serious consequences, and in some cases, can cost lives.”

They added that 12 British nationals were arrested and that other figures circulating were untrue. 

The initial strikes lasted for 39 days, with at least 2274 drones, 29 cruise missiles, and 551 ballistic missiles fired by Iran and its proxies.

“The amount of times I had my family on the phone, going: ‘We need to get you out, we’re sending a plane, you need to come home…’ I’m three daiquiris in. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Alisha. 

Dubai is still feeling the effects of the war, with tourism most sharply impacted. 

Though its airspace has reopened, airline seats in and out of the country are down more than 7 million compared to last year. 

The war has the potential to have a negative impact of the same magnitude as the global financial crisis or Covid. 

Alisha, in the end, moved back to Bournemouth as the economic downturn led to business drying up. 

“It did massively slow down. I had to make a decision, that financially, right now I shouldn’t be staying there,” she said.

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