Refusing to give up

Different battlefields, same fight.

Photo of an apartment building in Kyiv damaged by Russian missile strike on Feb 26, 2022. By Anton Shtuka.

This week, I have been thinking a lot about why people, even after being shown evidence of Russian crimes and colonialism, refuse to acknowledge it and continue to give Russians the benefit of the doubt. I came to the conclusion that many do it because of how successfully Russians built a romanticized image of themselves and never stopped whitewashing their history and avoiding responsibility. Another reason is that, apparently, choosing a side in a black-and-white situation seems like a difficult and radical choice for too many. I don’t know why people are afraid to be “biased” toward good versus evil, victims versus aggressors, justice versus unaccountability. It is not bias, it is common sense. People who choose to stay in the middle and “listen to both sides of the conflict” give aggressors the same attention and empathy as victims. It couldn’t be more wrong. At the same time, the world’s media continues to produce countless misleading headlines, distorts the truth, and shares Russian propaganda and lies, which confuses those who have lost their moral compass even more. All of this costs Ukraine thousands of lives and vital support and enables evil to spread further and become stronger.

My friend Sergei, who is currently on the front, hasn’t answered my messages for several days. I knew about the intense fighting in the area where he was stationed, and I hoped with all my heart that he would survive. When he finally replied, our conversation was interrupted by an attack. He texted: “Another teammate just got injured. I have to go.” I looked at my phone and thought that until he was fighting on the battlefield, I could not give up and let myself be paralyzed by sadness and helplessness in my safe apartment. I must keep fighting and encourage others to do the same – because we all owe our freedom and lives in safety to Sergei and Ukrainians like him.

A new poem that summarizes what I feel:

***

There is no “in the middle.”
There are no “both sides.”
There are evil and good,
and everyone must make a choice.
There is no complexity in inhumane crimes.
No one is forcing “poor Russian boys”
to commit atrocities in plain sight.
They do it 
because 
it brings them joy.

Evil is feeding on ignorance
and millions provide it with food.
All those who are so afraid to be biased
towards good
don’t understand 
that they already picked a side.
They stand by what’s wrong, 
because they are so scared 
to stand by what’s right.

Some will say that the world 
has always been like this.
That we must accept it 
and don’t act so surprised.
One of my former friends said: 
“Violence is common during war. 
Why are you so shocked?”
I couldn’t find the words back then,
but now I would answer: 
“I’m shocked by the fact that you are not.
I’m shocked that it is so normalized.”

This evil existed for as long as we were,
and every generation is forced to decide:
to appease and ignore it, 
hoping it will take someone else,
or finally gain the courage
to fight.

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Please continue supporting Ukraine.

Warmly,

Darya

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Email: daryazorka@substack.com

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