Learning from History: The Conflict in Ukraine

“The propagandist’s purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.”

― Aldous Huxley

As I navigate my way around Kyiv, conducting interviews with locals, journalists, and taxi drivers alike, their opinions on the current conflict have shifted over time. Obviously, nationalism is a huge factor. Having pride in one’s nation is not a bad thing. However, it becomes a problem when the people cease to realize that their enemy is also a human being.

Before we dive even further, I would like to make a point that I am not pro-Ukraine or pro-Russia. I am pro-people. As a journalist, I am duty-bound to individuals, so taking sides is not an option for me.

Amidst the mass media outlets and endless propaganda dumps, when we open the curtains, what is being done to Russian-speaking civilians in Ukraine is unacceptable. For reference, 20% of Ukraine’s population is Russian-speaking. And yet, they are bullied, attacked, spit on, or even killed. With the going narrative in the West that Russians are savage killers, this is pure propaganda stemming from fear from the Cold War. People still seem to see Russia as the Soviet Union.

As I mentioned previously, the media machine is no doubt a huge contributor to this issue. We must continue to think for ourselves and push back against the agendas that are fueling the flames. After all, in war, there are no winners except those at the top. We must not allow history to repeat itself.

Both the right and left seem to be unwilling to recognize the opposition as humans and are hell-bent on the total eradication of a population purely because of nationality. I met with a few English journalists and an Estonian. Their job is to report facts, as is mine. However, they were unwilling to recognize the faults of Ukraine as well. Whether society wants to admit it or not, there is a Nazi trend in Ukraine. I presented evidence to the journalists, and they refused to believe it, stating it was Russian propaganda. Though the presence here is evident, not all of the citizens are that way. No one country is inherently evil; there are simply outliers and groups. They were only focused on Russia’s faults. Both sides in the war have had their fair share of atrocities, but the concern arises when only one side is being blamed for both crimes.

I understand that as humans, we like to project our emotions, and anger is the most prevalent of the projections. We must control these temptations and think independently, lest we become the monsters we despise so much. Ethnic cleansing is happening before our very eyes. Everyone likes to say that if they were alive in Nazi Germany, they would have stood against it. And yet, those same people are the ones encouraging the same ideals. It is the ultimate hypocrisy. It would be different if the attacks were based on facts such as war crimes, and the targets were those individuals. But unfortunately, that is not the case. People are targeted simply due to language, not even citizenship. As a people, we must stand against this.

We are being fed garbage that fuels hatred towards a problem that is not present. It is the same as post 9/11, where the fear factor drove people to view all Muslims as terrorists. We must look deeper and expose truth and corruption. Stay tuned for this series. There is more to come.