The pain. The pain I feel writing these words, full of petrifying dread and impending sorrow, caused by not only experiencing the currently occurring situation, but also by witnessing the remorseful death of all the moral principles and warnings, once set by the those, who have witnessed the horrors of the term “war” with their own eyes.
The guilt. The guilt I feel thinking of my uselessness in the face of the “doomsday machine”, which could have been possibly prevented, had I shared my thoughts and fears openly to the international communal, instead of hiding in private from the media, as to not be an embarrassment of my publicly known family member.
The anger. The anger I feel reading an absurdly large number of dismissive reactions to each news of progressively worse escalation, derived from both the media and certain individuals, laughing it all off as another “Slavic moment” and “reassuring” people of either the end of Putin’s imperialistic hunger after the full annexation of Ukraine or blatantly lying of the war never happening, despite it already being 8 years since the so-called “hybrid” war began.
The desperation. The desperation I feel needing people to finally open their clouded minds and sealed hearts to not only see an exact correlation of the modern escalations with the ones in the, hopefully, not forgotten history, but to also show compassion and an immensely needed support, which, unfortunately, is now rarely publicized, for people are either blinded by the fear of getting involved or simply want to not lose the spectrum of possibilities and play on both sides.
The fear…
The confusion…
The hopelessness…
This letter is not only aimed towards those people, who are unfortunately intertwined inside the ongoing situation, but also to the fellow worldwide readers, who, in a surprising twist of fate, have stumbled across the mumblings of a rather frantic individual, trying to share the last thoughts and wishes behind, before moving forward towards an unknown, yet a certainly gloomy future.
As the words are slowly being typed onto the already published document, I think of no other way to better start this “confession”, but to state the obvious: Such immense crisis, that the eastern European’s political area is currently undergoing, should not be ignored – not only for the sake of Ukraine’s independence, but for the sake of the already dangerously damaged democratic values as well as the overall future of the world – no matter how exaggerated it may sound.
And despite slightly understanding the overall devaluation of the war by certain individuals, as they would, in return, bring up the society’s never-ending suffering from various social issues, economic instabilities as well as a global health crisis, I still feel responsible for emphasizing the grave importance surrounding the outcome of this exact momentum, for any future failure of de-escalation would potentially cause the worldwide point of no return.
“War makes man mad” – such was an incredibly meaningful forewarning from the ever so undepreciated project “Valiant Hearts: The Great War”. And that is something I, myself, fear of ever happening in todays “progressive and tolerant” world.
The further I write about the endangerments of the unfolding situation, the more I realize the enormously disastrous state, we, Ukrainians as well as the other citizens, are now subjected in: On the one hand, those individuals, who have no way or means to get out or to shelter themselves from the potential military action, are now stuck in an excruciating restlessness and panic of whether or not to even think about planning something in the future, without the guarantee of them even being alive.
On the other hand, those people, who are now turning for the desperate help towards “the main supporting partners”, namely the EU and USA, have to, unsurprisingly, experience an immensely condemning behavior of its citizens, as if not realizing, that such welcoming gestures of the “higher elite” were not at all directed to help stabilize the peace, due to them “genuinely” caring about the well-being of those, who might be potential victims. Such is an unfortunate reality of the “diplomatic facade”, constantly shown to the countries, that are mostly seen rather as a sphere of interest then an equal partners for global superpowers.
Nevertheless, the currently observed hatred of the “Kremlin elite” should not propagate the already parasitic belief of the entirety of Russian or Belarusian citizens being foes as well, for that would be an extension of the infamous “friend-enemy” philosophy. For despite being aware of the unspeakable horrors of being exposed to the constantly operating propaganda machine in these countries, my naïve self still believes in the survival of those, who realize the abnormality of such techniques; Of those, who are not afraid of sharing their opinions, regardless of possible threats they may receive; Of those, who understand the pointlessness of setting the possible military invasion in action. Therefore, I ask myself:
“If such intelligentsia has indeed whether completely perished or understandably had to escape such totalitarian hellhole, then what were those countless valiant sacrifices during the 2020 Belarusian protest, 2021 Russian protests and continuous repressions for?”
Being blessed with the ability of studying abroad, I have only now encountered two completely ridiculous, in my humble opinion, theories, in which a some of the fellow students as well as certain political leaders tend to believe in:
1. “Ukrainian’s democracy would still be intact, even after the invasion”.
2. The outside support would only cause the further escalations into the 3WW. Therefore, it would be better to simply stay put and observe it de-escalate into the “regional war””.
After a careful consideration of how to better find an appropriate answer, without going completely mental of the outward ignorance on the matter, I have come to such conclusions:
1. “Democracy cannot defend itself by giving itself up” – such were the words of the most prominent jurist of the XX century, the so-called “architect of Austrian constitution”, one of the most influential people in my existence and the one, who has experienced the wide spectrum of injustices and horrors before, during and after WW2 – Hans Kelsen. That exact quote, in my modest opinion, should be enough to fully contradict the absurdity of the first named "belief".
2. If the world is so scared of the WW3 ever happening, then how one be entirely confident, that a “regional war” would not later turn into the global one? Have we forgotten the consequences of such mentality during the annexation of Poland in 1939? Or do people simply like to step onto the same “historical rakes”?
Aren’t we obligated anymore to “cherish the memory of the fallen and never forget?” Or is the saying “The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history” true after all that happened throught it?
In spite of it all, I still hope that this note would not only help other Ukrainians and the ones, who are directly involved as the potential victims of such situation, to freely share their own thoughts and worries on the matter, but also be a wake-up call for neighboring civilizations to at least pay attention onto the threat much greater, then the “one” on their “freedom” to choose whether to vaccinate or not.
As the dusk currently settles itself upon my room, I can feel that ever-growing anxiety of not knowing an exact future, hiding itself in the dawn of the upcoming day, thus pressuring me to make a semi-decent conclusion, despite me never being good at them. Perhaps a cliché, yet I truly want to witness people unite to show support and understanding to those, who need it the most. To educate yourself on the matter and promote such knowledge onto others. To stop being two-faced in the decisions, as that is simply disingenuous. To act in accordance with what your heart says – no matter how naïve it may sound. For only that is how you truly show the hopefully remaining “humanity” in the face of the currently feasting immorality.
So please, stand with humanity.
Stand with the reestablishment of peace.
Stand with independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of Ukraine.
Stand with us… to secure a better tomorrow.
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