My Thoughts on Ukraine

You must have been living under a rock to have not seen the images coming out of Ukraine regarding Russia’s invasion of the sovereign nation. They are appalling and heart-wrenching, and it’s hard to believe that it’s happening. However, as an immigrant/child of immigrants who had fled Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990’s, the things I’m seeing happening in Ukraine look all too familiar. And, unfortunately, the responses from the world-powers-that-be are all too familiar as well.

First and foremost: It is my belief that what is happening in Ukraine at the moment is nothing short of genocide. It is my view that Putin’s desire is to wipe Ukraine and Ukrainians off the map. We must not sit back silently and let this happen! The United States and NATO had promised to help Ukraine if something like this were to happen. Well, it’s happened, and where is the international political community? Why won’t they do even the bare minimum of closing Ukraine’s sky? If we take Bosnia as an example, they’ll wait 2.5 to 3 years before taking actual steps to stop the violence, the murder, the atrocities. You know, we say “Never Again” when we talk about WW2 and Bosnia, but stuff like this happens again and again and again.

(Pictured below: a photo from the Seige of Sarajevo, and a picture from the invasion of Ukraine, side by side)

[Image removed due to copyright reasons]

My heart breaks for Ukraine. While I deeply believe that Ukrainians will prevail in the end still, knowing what I know from my own family’s history, they have a long road ahead of them. A road littered with the debris of their homes, haunted by the ghosts of their loved ones who were murdered, and a road that will inevitably branch away 2+ million times for each refugee who has had to (and who still has yet to) flee the danger – ultimately culminating in a complex web of forking and re-joining paths that become what we all know to be dijaspora.

I want to scream: Stop the madness! Don’t let this happen again! Please! But the world keeps turning, the sun still rises, and egomaniacal men in power continue to start wars and murder innocents in order prove their so-called “strength.” My desperate plea is lost in the daily churn. Now, all I do is pray that this is swiftly over, that it will not last years. I’m heartened to see the demonstrations and the responses from every-day people. It gives me hope that there is enough public pressure to force large-scale action from the people who have the power to help Ukraine win.

The news coverage, however, is bittersweet. I want to be clear when I say that I think we all need to be talking about this, and that the news must keep their eyes on the events unfolding in Ukraine because Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, and we cannot afford to let what’s happening be washed away in the next news cycle. That being said, the words reporters are using to describe this conflict are problematic, especially two specific statements.

The first saying, is the one we widely know: that this war is different because it is happening in a “civilized country.” But the second saying, is one that is getting completely looked over in its problematic-ness and that is: that this is the first time war has happened in Europe since World War II. And, just like that, with one sentence, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, all get swept under the rug. Our suffering is just a blip in time.

But, then, I start pondering. Do you just not consider Bosnians to be Europeans? Or, are we also uncivilized and thus what happened to us between 1992 and 1995 didn’t “count”? Why are we “uncivilized” if we are also an Eastern European nation that had its cities and societies and normal, everyday life just like Ukraine? Oh, is it because we’re Muslim, and Muslim suffering is acceptable, while white, Christian suffering is not? It’s easy to launch into a spiral from there. Palestine, Syria, Yemen, the Uyghurs in China, etc, all should be reported on with the same level of outrage. But, unfortunately, the world has in fact accepted Muslim suffering as the norm, and doesn’t really give a shit to do anything about it.

Let’s talk about Ukraine, let’s lift Ukraine up, let’s provide help and resources and compassion to Ukrainians because what they’re going through right now is awful and we cannot ignore it. But, also, let’s at least be honest with ourselves about the things we are ignoring. If we can start there and be honest in that regard, maybe we can also apply that same basic humanity to the rest of the world at some point down the line.

(Click here for resources to help Ukraine) 

-       Selma