Former Australian Paralympian Jessica Smith maintains that her home in Dubai provides greater safety than life in Australia, even amid escalating Middle East tensions that recently saw the city targeted in attacks.
Smith, 41, represented Australia in swimming at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. She relocated to the United Arab Emirates in 2019 due to her husband’s career and has raised their three children there. After a recent family holiday in Australia, she expressed eagerness to return, dismissing travel warnings from SmartTraveller.
Dubai’s Unique Sense of Security
“There’s 200 nationalities living side by side, and the fact that everybody feels so safe is something we certainly don’t take for granted,” Smith stated. “It is something I haven’t experienced in Australia.”
She highlights Dubai’s low crime rates and harmonious multicultural environment as key factors making it safer than Australia, where she perceives higher social tensions. Despite recent regional conflicts marking a first for the UAE, residents remain united. “Of course people feel anxious and nervous because nothing like this has ever happened in the UAE before – we are all doing what we can to support one another, and we are all making decisions that are best for our families,” she explained.
Smith emphasizes education’s role in fostering stability in the Emirates, her “incredible home.” She criticizes broad regional labels, stating, “Nobody deserves to live in conflict… but to brand an entire region as the same is detrimental.”
Online Backlash and Personal Journey
The motivational speaker, who boasts over 72,000 Instagram followers, calls out criticism of UAE-based influencers as “incredibly disappointing.” She has faced online ridicule from Australians, who highlight the irony of residing in a tax haven now caught in conflict.
Married to Iranian-born Scotsman Hamid Salamati since 2015, Smith converted to Islam. Born without a hand and forearm, she endured further trauma at 18 months when she accidentally knocked over a boiling kettle with her prosthetic limb, suffering third-degree burns over 15% of her body. This required blood transfusions and skin grafts.
Smith began competitive swimming at age 10, advancing to national levels. After the Athens Paralympics, where she did not medal, she sought treatment for an eating disorder.
