As a British man married to an Omani woman, currently living in Oman on a citizen’s visa, I find myself in a paradoxical and deeply troubling situation. My own government, the United Kingdom, has taken actions that now threaten not only my life, but the lives of my wife, my daughters and my extended Omani family.
The British government’s and US support of Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by continuing to supply arms and giving it political justification has placed all of us and millions more, in grave danger. Let me be clear: this is not an abstract or distant threat. My daughters’ Omani cousins, aunties and uncles are now at risk because of the British and US government’s support for Israel unprovoked aggression against Iran. The world, and especially Oman and the Middle East, should have no illusions about the magnitude of this danger. Consider the precedent set by Chernobyl. When the nuclear facility in what is now Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) suffered a catastrophic meltdown in 1986, the region became uninhabitable. The disaster was not contained to the immediate area; radioactive fallout drifted across Europe, contaminating land, water and food supplies. Even today, nearly forty years later, the area around Chernobyl remains a radioactive wasteland, a stark reminder of the enduring consequences of nuclear disaster.
Now imagine the consequences if a nuclear facility in Iran was struck by an Israeli missile powerful enough to penetrate its underground defences. The Sea of Oman, so vital to the livelihoods and well-being of everyone in this region, would be contaminated by radioactive fallout. Oman’s fishing industry would be destroyed overnight. Home-grown vegetables would become inedible. The water supply — essential for drinking, cooking and even showering — would be poisoned. For all of us living in Oman, life as we know it would end in an instant.
Radiation fallout does not respect borders. Being so close to Iran, Oman would be among the first and worst affected. The lives of Omanis and all residents — including myself, my family and my wife’s Omani family, would be irreversibly changed. Decades of progress and development since 1970 would be put at risk in a single moment. In the aftermath of such a disaster, our only recourse would be to hide in our homes, sealing windows and doors to keep out the radioactive dust. We might survive for a time on bottled water and whatever food we had stockpiled. Some might try to shelter in their cars, parked in sealed garages, in a desperate attempt to avoid contamination. But the sea would remain poisoned for months, if not longer.
The land, where farmers grow the fruit and vegetables that feed us, would be contaminated for years. Many would die slow, agonising deaths from radiation sickness. This is not scaremongering. This is the reality of nuclear fallout. Look to Chernobyl. Look further back to Japan in 1945, when the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The descendants of those exposed to the radiation still suffer from increased rates of cancer and other illnesses, nearly eighty years later. My own government, and the US, are fully aware of these possibilities. Yet they continue to support Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran and its people. The consequences of such actions will not be confined to Iran alone, they will ripple outward, endangering everyone in the region, including innocent families like mine. So I ask: do I not have the right to defend myself, my family and my wife’s family? When my own government’s policies put us in harm’s way, what recourse do I have? The right to self-defence is fundamental, and it is time for the world to recognise the catastrophic risks we all face if nuclear facilities become targets in this conflict. The time for illusions is over. The world must act to prevent disaster — before it is too late.
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