ANXIOUS Bahraini families have spoken for the first time of their ordeal of being caught up in the middle of conflict between Ukraine and Russia as missiles explode around them and fighting closes in towards their hiding places.
They have been sheltering in cellars and bunkers, experiencing a living nightmare and praying they can find a safe passage back to their home country.
The GDN has been told of 23 Bahrainis stuck in battle-torn Ukraine – 21 in Kharkiv, the second-largest city, and two in the capital, Kyiv – as battles intensify in and around both highly-populated areas.
“ATMs are out of order, supermarkets open occasionally and there is a partial curfew and we can’t even use our credit or debit cards,” said 32-year-old Al Munther Khalifa, who has been residing in Kharkiv for the past 10 years.
“The moment I step out of my home I could get shot and, I promise you, the situation is scarier than what people are watching on the TV news,” he added.
Mr Khalifa, who owns Adam Restaurant, a popular eatery famous for its steaks and burgers, and several other small businesses, has a 29-year-old Ukrainian wife, Yulia, and two children, Maria, eight, and Adam, six.
Shortly before violence erupted they were joined by his parents. “My 51-year-old father came to Ukraine for an urgent medical operation accompanied by my 47-year-old mother,” said Mr Khalifa.
So far, in the battle for Kharkiv, 21 people have been killed, and more than 100 injured in the last 24 hours.
“We have had direct contact with Bahrain Foreign Ministry officials on a daily basis, but the instructions they are giving us, may appear easy, but in reality, are too dangerous.
“To reach the train station in central Kharkiv would put my whole family at risk. It’s too dangerous.
“The other option is to take a cab to Moldova, which is a day away from where we live, and is like 1,000km away, and again there is no guarantee that we could make it out alive.”
Mr Khalifa said the situation had been so terrifying in recent days he was unable to sleep. “I don’t care who arranges safe passage to my family, I am willing to remain here, but they need to return back home,” he said.
“The bombing raids don’t differentiate between civilian or military targets and no one knows who is next to be hit.
“My house is shaking with every missile and the worry is eating me up. I don’t know when we’ll end up under the rubble.
“It was my wife’s birthday on Tuesday and the only candles were the bright lights of missiles lighting up the night sky.”
His mother Amina Alzayani sent a plea to the authorities for assistance. “We were supposed to return to Bahrain before the invasion but arrangements for a sick individual take time,” she added. “Now my husband’s medical situation is worsening.
“I’m also worried about my daughter-in-law and two grandchildren – things are not improving and the worst is expected.”
Ms Alzayani and her husband are also accompanied by her two sons Elyas, 16 and Al Haitham, 14 from Bahrain.
Meanwhile, another Bahraini restaurateur in the city is facing a similar ordeal. Khalid Mohammed, 35, who runs the Lucky Cat sushi and steak restaurant in the suburbs of Kharkiv, said general supplies were running out.
“The supermarkets, when open, only accept cash. The only way to get cash is to use your credit card and pay black-market inflated rates,” he said.
“It’s a nightmare. I want to flee to Moldova too and being single makes the process a lot easier than for Mr Khalifa and his family. But no option is safe, anyone can shoot at the cab I would be in.
“I just want to be back home with my family in Bahrain, my parents and my sisters and brother. They are all worried and want me back home.”
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said that it continues to closely monitoring the situation of Bahraini citizens in Ukraine.
“The Foreign Ministry affirms the keenness of Bahrain government to ease and facilitate the necessary procedures for the safe evacuation of citizens through secure channels,” said a statement.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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