Sara, a Dubai-based journalist, joined the US-funded Alhurra TV news channel hoping for job security. But after it abruptly stopped broadcasting and fired most staff, she's wondering how to make ends meet.

Alhurra, the only Arabic-language US station in a region where anti-American feeling is common, went off-air last month, hit by widespread cuts under President Donald Trump.

The station, which has struggled to compete in a crowded market that includes Qatar's Al Jazeera, had already sacked 25 percent of its workforce after budget cuts last September.

It is also out of kilter with Trump, a frequent critic of traditional media who will visit the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf monarchies this month.

But Alhurra's sudden closure came as a shock. On April 12, all 99 employees in Dubai, its Middle East headquarters, received an email titled "Thank you for your service", informing them of their immediate dismissal.

Sara, who asked to use a pseudonym to speak freely about the situation, said they are now fighting for the end-of-service payments mandated by law in the UAE.

"We're living a horror movie," she told AFP.

"My income........

© Al Monitor