The Cruel War Is Raging

as the war in ukraine rages, i've tried to put myself in the place of ordinary unkrainians.  i watch them as they are interviewed on tv and listen to their stories of loss, fear, and bravery.  i see their compassion for young russian soldiers who have been captured, as these soldiers express their bewilderment at being forced into a conflict that they don't understand while being offered food and a chance to call loved ones back in russia.  i see how torn many ukrainians are when confronted the choice of whether to stay and fight or flee to save their own lives and the lives of their loved ones.

as i look around my comfortable home where i'm surrounded by beautiful things, i contemplate being forced to leave it as the enemy's bombs come closer.  i think about what it would be like to give up everything i've spent my life collecting to escape to safety in another place, knowing that if i am ever able to return all will be lost.  it must be awful for a mother and her children to say good-bye to a husband and father who is staying to fight as they go to a safe location in another part of the country or across the border.  i wonder if i could have done what many ukrainian men have done as they said what could be their last farewell to their families.  

i try to put myself in the place of the young russian soldiers who are caught up in this conflict.  ill-trained and poorly equipped, they are being sent as cannon fodder to face death because of a mad leader intent on forcing his will on the ukrainian people.  they see their common humanity with the ukrainians they have been sent to kill, and many of them lay down their arms or turn around and head back toward the russian border.  i wonder what fate awaits them after the war is over.  perhaps they will be executed by their government or sent to prison camps in siberia.  perhaps they will make it home to loved ones and escape retribution.  others follow orders and play their parts in the killing machine of which they are a part, either having convinced themselves that the lies of their leaders are true or accepting their fate as pawns on a stage they did not choose.

the world is filled with admiration for the ukrainians who are fighting fiercely to hold off the onslaught on their homeland.  they have refused to accept the analysis of military experts that fighting the might of the russian army is futile and have fought bravely and brilliantly.  we hope against hope for a negotiated peace that will leave ukraine intact as a sovereign, democratic nation.  perhaps putin's military commanders and his wealthy cronies will turn against him and bring the war and his leadership to an end.  the situation is not good for either side now, but it ordinary ukrainians that are suffering most.  no matter how hard one tries, it is impossible to understand fully what they are experiencing.

may we be filled with deep compassion for their suffering.  may we do what we can to aid them.  may we support our government and its allies who are aiding the ukrainians in whatever ways are possible short of expanding the armed conflict.  may we see that they and the russians who are invading their country are like us, that they are us and we are them.  may we sense our common humanity and work for peace among individuals, clans, and nations.  shalom.