The War in Ukraine: 5 Ways to stay engaged

In the year 2022, surface-to-air missiles and explosive munitions are lighting up the night skies over Ukraine. People are huddling in basements and subway stations holding crying infants and toddlers. Long lines of people are waiting at the border of Poland and Latvia to escape the carnage and loss of life they anticipate are to come to their beloved home. In the year 2022, we watch these images on our TV’s our phones and our computers wondering how we got here.

There is a simple equity question implicated in the wars we have fought thus far. Do we equally value the lives of all of those on this earth? And if we did, could we reasonably come up with an argument that would justify the decision to hurt, maim or kill an entire collective of people? And if we can come up with such an argument, who does it benefit? These are the questions we at Equity Labs invite you to consider in the coming days and weeks as we watch what unfolds.

The equity implications of war are many. But at the root of every war, is an unequal valuing of life of an artificially engineered other: the indigenous, the Black, the Jewish, the Tutsi, the Uyghurs… the list goes on and on. And now we can add the Ukrainians to that list. A 2016 UN report on peacekeeping missions found that wars have a disproportionate impact on certain people. War impacts, women, children, the elderly, and people with disability in disproportionate ways. The same report found that in armed conflicts about 70% of the casualty are unarmed civilians and that among those are a disproportionately high number of women and children. In 2022 in an intelligent, well-informed, and supposedly “civilized” world we continue to see the decision to wage war on one another repeatedly made. There is a sad and resounding answer to the original question. Do we equally value the lives of all those on this earth? No. If we did, there would be no justification for the invasion and occupation of Ukraine by Russia.   

Even in the dark shadows of war, the even darker shades of racism show up. At the borders of Ukraine even as refugees are lining up to escape the carnage, “non-European” (read as non-White) refugees are put in different often slower-moving lines to flee. Media commentators suggest that wars are expected or even normal in the Middle East and the African continent but are aghast that this is happening in Europe, the supposed height of civilization. We should call this what it is… This is racism. This is part of the larger project of valuing some lives as less than the other and decreases the threshold to unleash harm on these people. All wars, whether in Europe or otherwise, reduce human life to a political calculus. In 2022 we should do better.

We cannot ignore the incredible and inspiring human spirit that also comes to the forefront in these dark times. The tenacity and courage of Ukrainian civilians helping each other in the face of terrible odds; the lines of Polish and Romanian citizens lining up in their cars to take home fleeing Ukrainian refugees; the Ukrainian civilians feeding Russian troops who are stranded in a foreign country fighting a war they didn’t want. These stories are evidence that we are capable of loving and valuing humanity. These stories are evidence of people making the choice to see someone in their most vulnerable moment, lift them up, and commit to their wellbeing.

In the coming days there are choices you may be able to make that restores the value of humanity to a people harmed and commit to their wellbeing.

1. Vet and critically consume information: Wars are often justified through propaganda and false narratives. Consume information with a critical eye and check the validity of your sources. Report or stop circulating mis/disinformation. Use your social media to lift accurate accounts of the war

2. Educate yourself: Read and learn about the history of Ukraine and its separation from the former Soviet Union. This war has deep historical roots that inform its origins and eventually its cessation. 

3. Reach out to those impacted in your network: There are Ukrainians and Russians in our communities who are experiencing this war in ways that you or I cannot fathom. Do what you can to attend to their well-being.

4. Donate to refugee assistance funds (if you can): At the time of writing there are over I million refugees who have been displaced, and they will need financial support.

5. Leverage the power of your voice: Write to your congressional representative or governmental representative about what you would like the government to do and how to intervene.

In an equitable world where all human life is valued equally war against a people, any people should be the height of amorality. In 2022…. We have more work to do.