Wars are unfortunately going on all the time in the world, and many of them have taken place relatively recently in our «neighbourhood» (Cyprus, Serbia, Syria). But all of us in the «West» observe with awe and great compassion the war in Ukraine. But also with a bit of hypocrisy and pharisaism, as if there is a war in Europe for the first time since WWII. World War II (as some unhistorical people say).
It is natural, of course, that all of us ordinary citizens feel this way. Heartbreaking scenes fill our screens everywhere and haunt our dreams. We see a great European country disintegrating, families being wiped out and millions uprooted. And the nightmare of a generalised conflict - even a nuclear threat - no longer seems like a science fiction scenario.
And we Greeks - like almost all Westerners, including me of course - suddenly forgot about the pandemic, filled our profiles with the colours of Ukraine and carried the familiar strife and discord into our discussions on this new «battlefield». And most of the time we do it on the basis of victimhood and misinformation, without any knowledge of history and the reasons that led to the worst devastation there is. The devastation of a war.
I have many friends, after 20 years of working professionally in both rival countries, as Communications Manager at Coca-Cola for South-East Europe. And it breaks my heart to see them frightened and hunted on one side and ashamed and desperate on the other. And their beautiful countries withering away, one from war and the other from shame and economic exclusion.
I got to know both of these countries quite well through my business travels. But it is very difficult for us Westerners to decode them socially, economically or culturally. Let alone politically. They are countries where bourgeois democracy is an almost unknown concept and countries plagued with a heavy history of hatred. Anyone who has heard of the Holodomor genocide in the winter of 32-33, where 7 million Ukrainians starved to death because Stalin stole all their wheat, might understand something. And those who knew what has been going on for 8 years on the Eastern border will still not fall from the clouds. .
Living close to the two peoples, I was aware of the hostility between them, especially after 2014 and the violent annexation of Crimea. I knew that they had been in a guerrilla war between them since 2014 with thousands of deaths - mostly Russophones - on the Eastern border (13,000 to date, according to the UN). .
I was also experiencing the growing disgust of Russians for the West and its people (except for its products, which they loved). I saw first hand - because of my job - their muzzled media and propaganda and understood from conversations and readings their imperialist tendencies .
But I also knew about the Nazi battalions in Ukraine, and their atrocities, including the holocaust in Maidan. I knew that the Nazis also held important government positions even in the last government, which everyone knew was a mouthpiece for America.
And I knew, of course, that Ukraine wanted like crazy to join NATO with all the consequences of such a move. But I knew it because I was there because in the West all this was a minor matter. .
And so for me it was the chronicle of a death foretold.
But I am in pain for the horrific invasion and my friends who are suffering. I grieve for Olesya and Olga who left their husbands, brothers and sisters, fathers at the front and with their whole lives in a suitcase and children in their hands found themselves refugees in Poland.
I grieve for Ruslana and Oksana who, like most Ukrainians, are still there with guns on the bedside table and horror in their eyes and souls.
But I also feel sorry for my friend and colleague Vladimir, Natasha and Anna who - like most Russians - are living their own nightmare of global outcry, of the coming economic hardship and isolation and, above all, of living under a tyrannical regime.
And of course I tremble at the possibility of a Third World War that will change our lives forever.
But I don't put the blame for all this on Putin alone. Because in my humble opinion the responsibility is shared, although not equally, of course. The simplistic narrative sold to us by the media is not the whole truth. It is difficult to perceive the grey areas and the dark causes, the hidden agendas and the terrible mistakes. Much is on record, but most of us are willfully uninformed or willfully blind and willfully uninformed or misinformed.
I'm not trying to justify, but just to justify the epidemic reaction, because war is always the worst solution and the main responsibility lies with the aggressor. But above all I am trying to draw a conclusion about what we citizens should ask of our leaders in countries where, fortunately, we still have democracy and peace, so that we can safeguard them over time.
And this is not done with lionizing and self-centeredness, with spheres of influence and serving economic interests, but with diplomacy and understanding and with peace as the dominant pursuit as the main ingredient of prosperity. And unfortunately the West - and America in particular - has done exactly the opposite. Instead of helping Russia with a Marshall Plan after World War II, the United States and the United States did not help Russia. Instead of helping Russia after World War II, instead of annexing it to NATO as it had wished, it underestimated and hurt the «Russian Bear». He destabilized it and made it a poor copy of Western society, a pawn of the «markets» and the mafia.
It is partly reminiscent of the behaviour of the victors of the First World War towards the defeated Germany. Behaviour that contributed to the rise of Nazism and the creation of the conditions for World War II. History unfortunately repeats itself. The whole treatment of Russia to date, the political and economic choices of the West created a «monster» . A ravenous monster which, after a period of a new cold war, on the occasion of a blatant and unjustified violation of agreements, finally reacted in heat. Under the pretext of defence and the rationale of making Russia a Great Power again. And so the peace, security and prosperity of us all are now at stake.
But let's not fool ourselves. We have long had an undeclared war raging and threatening humanity - and especially the West - on many other levels. A war of values. Everyday values such as truth, justice, freedom, equality, humanity and freedom are at stake. Goods that we have left unguarded, victims in a war of domination of the strongest at the economic or political level.
Putin has been on a roll. He has been observing us and «measuring» us for many years. He has been observing, and fomenting through his oligarchs, our weakness and moral corruption. He observed our indifference to the corruption they generously dispensed, our indifference to the economically vulnerable in our societies, our indifference to the environment, our indifference to the war in Georgia, Syria or Yemen. And he believed that we would not strongly resist his expansionist ambitions and actions, that he would get away with it, as he did in Georgia.
But he underestimated us, as we underestimated him. Yes, he rallied us and there was an unprecedented positive step of consultation and coordination in the West that rather surprised him. I feel proud of this as a European, but perhaps it is a little too late. Let us hope that a peaceful solution can be found soon.
But this whole traumatic story should be a lesson to all of us who watch the invasion from the safety of our homes, making our crosses and expressing our opinions while our main concern is accuracy. A lesson and a guide to demand what model of power and economy we want from now on.
There is the American model, which is basically based on greed, individualistic growth and over-consumption. And there is the ideal European model - based largely on the principles of ancient Greek democracy - based on moderation and balanced development with strong social cohesion.
I personally dream of this model.
I dream of a society where resources are more equitably and intelligently distributed. A world where investment is not in weapons, nor in products and services we don't need, but in areas such as health, clean energy, culture and education. I dream of a world where universal human values are served in the way that men of letters around the world have praised (including Leo Tolstoy in «War and Peace»).
I dream of a world where people join our talents and strengths not to fight each other, but for the common good and prosperity. I dream of a world where our leaders do not feed «monsters» for their ephemeral convenience .
Utopia you may say, but I never stop dreaming.
But for now I hope that the diplomatic approach will prevail and that the nightmare of Olesya, Olga, Ruslana, Oksana and the millions of Ukrainians inside and outside their country will quickly come to an end. Let us also end the shame and despair of Vladimir, Natasha and Anna and the millions of ordinary Russian citizens who do not have the ability to easily change their leadership and their fate (and indirectly our fate)
And of course I hope that we will not have to experience - again - similar traumatic events in our country, like those experienced by our parents and grandparents.
(Anastasia Sideri is a Chemical Engineer, Communication Scientist, Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow)
Author of the article:
Anastasia Sideri is a Chemical Engineer, Communications Specialist, and Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow.
