Ukraine: The consequences of war
in pandemic times.
Young civilians armed with automatic weapons. Picture courtesy of https://meduza.io/feature/2022/02/26/vtoroy-den-voyny-fotografii
It is a cold grey evening as I sit in an isolated caravan in the
Spanish mountains.
I had taken myself away from daily life to work through recent
trauma and grief and disconnect from the global madness...
Solitude and nature combined to bring me back to a greater sense of
balance and healing until I received the news from my friend in Ukraine. Once
again, I was drawn back in to global insanity and instantly triggered into a
state of anxiety and fear of losing another loved one.
I have a good friend living in the center of Kyiv who sadly returned
to his home country last year to rebuild his life having fled the previous Ukrainian
conflict to begin a new life in Spain. He, like many others had to return to
his home country due to the economic and health consequences of the pandemic
which have had far reaching effects most of which are still becoming apparent.
War games are nothing new of course, throughout the
pandemic/lockdown we had been discussing the next potential major conflicts,
where the power struggle would ultimately lead us; China/Taiwan, Russia/Ukraine
amongst the most dangerous more obvious possibilities and their global
consequences.
However, when you have a personal connection, everything changes
despite the wise words of a friend, ‘observe not absorb’.
The surreal and highly distressing nature of the situation impacted
me as I spoke to my friend on the phone in Ukraine, as I listened to the fear
in his voice, the sound of explosions in the background, separated by thousands
of miles.
It is irrelevant really, one’s personal and political beliefs
regarding the war, who or what is behind it, agendas, what they stand to gain
or lose, claims and counterclaims, the propaganda machine of war.
There is only one true certainty, the indiscriminate loss of life
of both young and old. More grief, mental, physical and spiritual trauma that
in addition to ongoing trauma from previous conflicts now combined with severe
mental fatigue following two years of lockdowns and restrictions.
To say this is an absolute catastrophe on so many levels is an
understatement.
The screaming sensationalist headlines of World War Three, Putin
the evil tyrant, the potential for massive loss of life, another refugee crisis;
well, yes, all the aforementioned could very possibly be correct and indeed
occur, and is occurring, however it is the effects of this ‘wave’ of high
tension, anxiety, shock and very real distress that hugely concern me.
I consider myself a critical thinker, possessing the ability to
observe and analyze whilst also using my intuition, my emotional intelligence.
The triggers I experienced were natural when facing a dangerous situation
involving someone I care for, especially having lost several loved ones in a
very short space of time, one in a particularly violent way. A shocked
emotional fearful response is entirely natural in such circumstances.
However, the big issue we are collectively faced with, particularly
in Europe due to geographical proximity, is especially complicated: This, from
a military perspective, is possibly an ideal time to invade and cause utter
global chaos following two years of pandemic which has rocked most people’s
existence in one way or another causing bewilderment, angst, hostility, huge
division, fear, anger, frustration, grief and loss. One cannot underestimate
what a truly damaging and powerfully dangerous situation we are facing.
We are suffering from a collective deep fatigue of the soul whether
we recognize it or not.
We have been impacted on every possible level and most were
beginning to think the worst was over and we had begun emerging back into the
light. Just when you thought things couldn’t get much worse, how about a war to
end all wars if it were to escalate out of control?
Now, as an adult, this is not a great scenario whether you engage critical thought and balanced observation or not but as a child or young person, this is yet another huge and frightening blow, a great threat to their freedom and mental, emotional and social development. Some may argue, conflict has existed since the beginning of time and whilst we debate Ukraine, tragedy continues in Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon and countless nations across the globe where children have been robbed of their childhoods and their lives.
This is a tragic and undeniable truth, mainly a disgusting
reflection of the messed-up world in which we live, though my observation is
based on the effects of two years of pandemic, an experience none of us have
lived through in recent history, the effects of this situation combined with
conflict and continuous mainstream media fear porn which have hugely
detrimental effects on all of our mental health.
From the beginning of this global crisis, it was never fear of
death that haunted me but the long-term repercussions on all our behaviours,
our mental states, isolation, effects of division and stunted emotional and
social growth of young children and teens which will become more and more
apparent in years to come. What do I mean by this? The first crucial years of
emotional and social development, playful interaction, touch (hugs and kisses)
carefree spontaneity of play, stripped away in an instant. Play parks closed
with police tape as if they were crime scenes were for me among the first and
most poignant and distressing symbols of what was to come over the coming
years. Children became both frightened of leaving the house and interacting
with other children. How does this impact a young mind and soul?
Adolescence for many is not always a wonderful time of experiment,
freedom and pushing the limits of expression and authority but now it became a
time of lockdown, isolation, angst, enforced obedience and accusations,
dividing the generations.
Young children were
encouraged in schools to tell on their peers if they did not maintain adequate
distances or removed their masks. This began creating a hostile suspicious
environment in what should be a place of wonderous development and creativity,
education.
In a country that suffered an agonizingly horrendous civil war
followed by a dictatorship, these actions are dark reminders of the encouragement
to ‘denunciar’ your neighbours who would invariably be led away to their deaths
before the firing squad.
What does this have to with Ukraine you may be asking? Depending on
your pandemic experience, who you lost, the level of trauma experienced, your
social/economic situation, levels of fear and distress in the home environment,
the collective PTSD will affect you now or in the future in one way or another
but combine all the aforementioned with war and you have a disastrous and most
dangerous combination.
The Ukraine government were said to have distributed 10, 000
automatic weapons in one day alone to civilians in the capital Kyiv. All males
over the age of 18 to 60 have been forbidden from leaving the country and
‘encouraged’ to fight and protect their nation. Picture an 18-year-old male,
aged 16 at the beginning of lockdown who, if he had the misfortune of suffering
all the aforementioned, combined with the natural restlessness of an energetic
frustrated angry young man, is handed a deadly weapon, blood lust for the enemy
fueled with rage, fear and confusion...
Do I need to spell out the tragedy? Lambs to the slaughter?
. Picture courtesy of https://meduza.io/feature/2022/02/26/vtoroy-den-voyny-fotografii
War is traditionally lucrative for some, the same minority who
generally profit from the resulting tragedy of conflict, though rarely
affecting the political leaders who led us there in the first place; a kind of
bizarre political cheerleader, applauding the bravery from a safe spot usually
thousands of miles away, cheering on those brave souls to fight for their nations,
whilst never experiencing the true horrors and bloodshed. Perhaps in this case
the Ukrainian president,Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an exception, staying put in the capital to face the
invaders.
If we are to make any real positive change in this world in the
now, then we must recognize the crucial importance of helping to heal and guide
our young through this collective trauma for they are our future leaders. Teach
them to be critical thinkers, intuitive, empathetic compassionate beings rather
than the potential narcissists and sociopaths that modern society, social media
and mainstream media are molding them into within this culture of fear and self-obsession.
Struggles, conflict and strife can have positive outcomes,
resulting in unity, change, compassion and an appreciation of the most
important things in life, if we learn the crucial lessons, but most
importantly, do not allow them to be repeated. It is said, ‘the definition of
insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different
result. However, how exactly does yet another conflict teach us or result in
positive change? We are teaching the next generations yet again that violence
and terror are the only solutions to resolve ongoing issues.
We, the human race, have an awful lot of introspection and soul searching
to do. Real change comes from within though outwardly, Perhaps the only way
forward for real transition and shift is when we look clearly at our global
leaders and see them for what they are; Most of whom are liars and thieves. It
is time to state enough is enough. Let the scales fall from our eyes. As a
collective and as sovereign beings we hold the power, they cannot remain in
their positions without us.
It is indeed time for
fundamental change on planet Earth. And the time is now.
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