There Are No Winners In War

Dear Readers,

You would think that after the two-year-long war waged on humanity itself by the dreadful pandemic, we would have emerged wiser, more compassionate and with a renewed sense of respect for human life and its fragility. But even before we can safely bid goodbye to this inadvertent battle with the covid virus, the world was shocked to wake up to another dangerous war this Thursday, as Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea – the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe, since World War 2.

The repercussions will be as heart-breaking. In addition to death and destruction, financial markets are bracing for disaster that this war, and resultant international sanctions against Russia, could seriously subject global economy to, even as Russian President, Vladimir Putin, unleashes his master-class in destructive and treacherous leadership.

While Russia interprets this war as an act of “demilitarizing” Ukraine in the interest of protecting itself against Western encroachment, there’s absolutely no justification for brazenly invading a weaker neighbour. And nothing will ever justify Russian soldiers returning home in body-bags or Russia’s economic dislocation and global ostracism, having already suffered immensely over the past century, from war and totalitarian rule.

Truth is, there are no winners in war – be it between nations or in a Boardroom. When leaders of nations, or even of a community as minuscule as ours, refuse to see eye to eye, the biggest losers are the citizens and the community members, respectively.

We join the world in saying a prayer for the Russia-Ukraine situation to resolve quickly. May better sense prevail among our leaders, elected or otherwise, to know that we need to end the war before the war ends us.

Have a safe weekend.

– Anahita