Ukraine and Us

Three weeks ago, Russia invaded Ukraine and the world feels much more precarious to me. A brutal attack on a peaceful democratic nation just wanting to be free. President Zelensky begs the world not to look away. To act. He himself asked for a rifle, not a ride. Look this in the eye, he says. It could be you next. It could be us.?

Vaclav Havel is known to have said that morality means taking responsibility, not only for your life, but for the life of the world. We are all connected. What’s happening in Ukraine could happen in neighboring nations were this war to move west. It could happen in the U.S., were we to have a different president right now. Were Putin to employ more far-reaching weaponry.

So how can we do more than bear witness to these atrocities? How can we, as individuals, act to help Ukranian refugees and Russian refugees for that matter, who did not want this war either?

We can act by staying informed, and not looking away when the tragedy seems too much to hold.

We can commit to reading solid news sources, with reliable reporting.

We can donate to humanitarian organizations on the ground in Ukraine and Poland.

We can ask our companies to do the same.

We can volunteer with local refugee organizations.

The bolder of us can even volunteer in/near Ukraine.

We can support Ukrainian-owned small businesses, such as restaurants. Russian ones too.

We can vote to make sure an unhinged despot does not come into high office in our own countries.

We can give to our religious congregations that are working with organizations in/near Ukraine to get relief to people.

We can take heart in much of the world - countries and companies - acting in unison right now to denounce Russia’s war, hobbling its economy, and working to contain the war from spreading.

Right now, the Jewish Federation of North America, is at the Poland-Ukraine border, meeting with refugees to hear what their greatest needs are, as well as the needs of surrounding countries that are absorbing these refugees. The Federation’s members are meeting with their partner organizations, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel. These organizations have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Ukranian refugees and have helped well over 1,000 people thus far find safe places to live in Israel and Eastern Europe. Other religious delegations, and many non-religious, are doing the same.

Bearing witness is a mighty task in and of itself. The refusal to look away. To watch, to listen to the stories of human tragedy, of cities being demolished, of families being wrenched apart, of school teachers taking up arms, of hospitals being bombed, of civilians being attacked as equally as soldiers. This is the least we can do; hold Ukraine in our hearts. If we can do more, this is the time to act.