Wow, times certainly are a changin’ — and I’m not sure if I like it.
As EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine: “These are among the darkest hours for Europe since the Second World War.”
Of course, lots of bombs have fallen on lots of parts of the world since the 1940s. And to imply everything is different in this atrocity because it’s happening in Europe may reflect an attitude that some lives are more valuable than others.
In fact, we’re already hearing stories of people of colour — Nigerian, Lebanese, and Indian residents of Ukraine — being pushed back from border crossings as they try to escape the bombings, with preference going to white folks.
I truly hope that’s not the case, but I also know humanity still has a ways to go in shaking our tribal tendencies.
That said, I don’t mean to lessen the significance of this invasion with a shrugging attitude of “whatever, invasions happen.”
Moreover, most of us do tend to feel things more acutely when we have a personal connection to the people or place in question.
I read recently that Canada has the largest Ukrainian population in the world outside of Ukraine and Russia. The article also explained that the vast majority of those early Ukrainian immigrants settled in the three prairie provinces because many had farming backgrounds and the Canadian government was selling off much of that “empty” prairie farmland for almost nothing. Of course, that land was neither empty nor the government’s to sell, but there’s that First Nations blind spot again.
But despite the questionable pretext, the Ukrainian people did come, work and enrich Canadian culture in many ways.
I was born in Winnipeg and grew up in Calgary where I well remember feeling quite slighted when a number of my classmates got an extra day off school to celebrate what we called at the time Ukrainian Christmas on Jan. 7.
I also remember being at summer camp when one of the very cool camp counsellors broke into traditional Ukrainian dance.
Point being, I’m feeling the impact more than I might if I didn’t have that history, and clearly I’m not alone.
Canada, albeit a bit player, is doing what it can with sanctions, and here in Richmond, city staff have taken down the Russian flag at the Richmond Olympic Oval and raised the Ukrainian flag at city hall.
Meanwhile, folks have been attending rallies, organizing fundraisers and painting rocks with messages of support for the people of Ukraine. And then there’s the oil.
With Russia being a major oil exporter, gas prices, which were already giving people heart attacks at the pump, are sure to go up. But instead of (or maybe as well as) complaining and searching GasBuddy for the best deals, perhaps this is the time to double down on investments in renewable energy sources.
Just as the horrors of COVID brought attention (although we’re still waiting for action) to how long-term care facilities are run, this could be the kick we need to start weaning ourselves off our addiction to foreign oil (or any oil for that matter.)
At the risk of sounding like an irritatingly positive person, silver linings can’t hurt.
So while we fret and freak out about what’s happening in the Ukraine, we can also seize an opportunity to get serious about investing in alternative energy.
It also wouldn’t hurt to remember that while it may feel like things are a changin’ for the worse, by almost every measure (life expectancy, malnutrition and world hunger) we are significantly better off than we were the last time bombs were falling on Europe.
