A SPANISH influencer who was stuck in Dubai urged people living in Spain to ‘stop paying taxes’ after Madrid failed to rescue them from Iranian rockets.
Ofelia Hentschel, an influencer and former Masterchef 9 contestant, was holidaying in Dubai when the Iran conflict began.
In a video to her followers she said she was ‘alone’ and that ‘Italian and French citizens are receiving responses from their embassies’ but that ‘the Spanish embassy isn’t speaking, isn’t answering’.
After her initial video, in which she asked for a ‘solution or an answer’ from the embassy on how she could get home, she continued to keep her followers updated.
In a final message she told them to ‘stop paying taxes, because as you can see, they’re not doing any good and we’re completely helpless’.
Hentschel claims that she is not living in Dubai to avoid taxes, she lives in Madrid and was visiting Dubai on holiday.
Since these videos, posted on February 28, she has said that she did receive a call from the embassy and that ‘if you check their social media, they’re constantly updating’.
These ‘audio messages’ and updates led her to feel ‘incredibly supported by Spain’.
READ MORE: EU leaders close ranks around Spain after Trump’s furious threat to cut trade over Iran tensions
She then said: “You’re asking me, then, why doesn’t the Spanish government get us out?
“Because this is like a war, and there are missiles in the air. The Spanish army isn’t the one to get us out, and I don’t think it would be safe to do so. In that respect, I think our country is handling it well.”
Hentschel is now back in Spain after purchasing a commercial flight ticket from Dubai to Istanbul and then another from Istanbul to Madrid.
On social media she said that her friends and family helped her to pay for and book the tickets.
Her flight into the Spanish capital landed at around 7.30pm yesterday evening.
While this influencer did not leave the Middle East on a plane chartered by the Spanish government, many individuals already have.
The Spanish government has begun evacuation operations on Tuesday with the first plane carrying 175 Spanish nationals from Abu Dhabi (UAE) to Madrid.
There are estimated to be 30,000 Spanish citizens living or holidaying in the Middle East at the moment.
Additional flights are being planned in several Middle-Eastern countries, according to Jose Manuel Albares, Spain’s Foreign Minister.
The foreign ministry is also urging all Spaniards in the Middle East to register in the official ‘travellers’ registers’ so they can be assisted.
They also recommend that those in Iran and other risk-zones leave as soon as commercial flights resume. Spaniards in other places in the region are advised to stay inside, avoid non-essential travel and have travel documents ready.
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