Juffair residents were evacuated by the Interior Ministry to emergency shelters, run by its Crisis and Disaster Management Directorate, following the Iranian missile attacks on the US Navy Base.
Hundreds of evacuees spent yesterday evening at school buildings in surroundings areas. Authorities provided bedding, meals and other necessities, until it was safe enough for families to return home.
Some brought family pets with them too. One of the shelters was located at Ahmed Al Omran Secondary Boys School in Hoora, which was able to host more than 900 people.
An Egyptian expatriate, who lives just 300 metres away from the base, told the GDN about his ordeal. Although he was quite afraid, he said that he had tried to put on a brave face for his young children.
Hussam Al Ghareeb, sheltered at the school with his wife and four daughters Reham (8), Noor (6), Maha (5) and two-year-old Ameena.
“It was terrifying – the strikes were very powerful. As soon as I heard the explosions, I made a decision to control myself and the situation as much as I could, for the kids sake,” he said.
“It was a horror – much scarier than what you see on television.”
“We hopped in the car but couldn’t go very far because of the extreme traffic congestion. We walked home on foot to take some things from the apartment, but we weren’t allowed to enter and were evacuated.
“At the school, we kept hearing other explosions, and the girls were quite afraid, but I tried my best to let them play. I told them it was like ‘fireworks’.”
Mr Al Ghareeb told the GDN that when they arrived at the school, the evacuees were organised into groups and placed in different classrooms.
The hotel manager added that he has been living in Bahrain for 22 years and never expected to experience an attack of this nature. He ‘prayed to God’ to keep the country safe.
In another classroom was a couple with a feline friend. They left their apartment in Juffair with nothing but their pet cat, named Charlie.
“We live close to the base. We felt the heat of the explosion, the building was shaking,” Azerbaijani school teacher Rauf Hassanli said.
“When we spotted the smoke, my wife, Atia, and I, took our cat and some water and ran away. We stayed outside for two hours until buses came and took us to the school building.”
“We felt safe here. My family back home is worried and kept calling us.”
Mr Hassanli, a chemistry teacher at a private school, will have to give classes remotely today and will have to venture home to pick up his laptop if possible, or loan one from a friend.
Trucks were seen unloading mattresses and other supplies into Ahmed Al Omran Secondary Boys School.
Evacuees were also sheltering at Khawla Secondary Girls School.
The Interior Ministry had previously released a list of shelters across the four governorates and an updated list is set to be issued shortly.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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