I arrived in Köln, Germany, after nearly a day of travel. The rainy air licked the back of my neck as I exited the Bahnhof, the railway station, into the warm embrace of my tante. As we drove through the circular city to Junkersdorf, she pointed out the lightless Christmas trees and burnt-out LEDs dimming the Konditoreien shops.
My last visit to see my family was back in 2018. After a long road trip through Bavaria into the Westphalia region, I believed I knew Germany like a second home. I left eager to return, not knowing that a global pandemic would separate me from the country for almost five years.
When I finally returned, I quickly realized the world had changed since my last visit. It was foolish of me to believe that everything had stood still, waiting for me. My cousin left for medical school in Halle and I stopped accompanying my family during their visits due to my own education in Berkeley. Instead of reminiscing on my uncomfortable transition into adulthood, I focused on the lights, or lack thereof.
My tante described that Germany was facing a gas shortage — one that left the twin spires of the Köln Dom in darkness and the Rhine River a tar black in the nighttime. This shortage gave way to an energy crisis extending to each corner of the country.
Why? Because Germany’s resistance-driven embargoes on Russia had been returned, and now the country was socioeconomically implicated in the war on Europe’s Eastern front.
As I write, it has been nearly one year since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. What Russian President Vladimir Putin stated would be a quick military operation to capture the capital city of Kyiv is reaching its anniversary.
What Russian President Vladimir Putin stated would be a quick military operation to capture the capital city of Kyiv is reaching its anniversary.
At its core, the current Russo-Ukrainian conflict has been brewing for decades. When the Cold War drew to a close, former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to revive Eastern Bloc countries through the practice of perestroika, a political movement meant to free the shackles of the Soviet sphere of influence in Europe. Ukraine, a border country, became an autonomous body following Gorbachev’s ordinance.
Although the Cold War concluded in the 1990s, recent Russian leadership has attempted to reel in former satellite states to create a buffer between Moscow and the Western world. This set a series of uprisings into play on the Eastern front, and consequently, furthered an ideological split that left countries like Ukraine vulnerable to burgeoning attacks.
While these tensions eventually transpired into a full-blown war, Ukrainian resilience and determination have highlighted a nation’s strength backed by very few foreign troops.
In early November, Ukrainian forces recaptured the southeastern city of Kherson. This key territorial claim has turned the tides in the war, to the point where Russian forces have to fight to hold acquisitions, rather than advance past border cities.
The current success story of Ukraine has been attributed to a steadfast people led by the fearless Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Jewish comedian-turned-president. As the world marvels at Ukraine’s ability to force back one of the great global powers, one can certainly wonder why a majority of the world has stood on the sidelines for so long.
As I sat wedged between the car door and my overly large suitcase, I pondered these same exact questions. Why, in a world of nearly 200 countries, is one so visibly fighting alone?
While the calls for Ukraine to find protection through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, have increased since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014, many participating countries have been hesitant to push an initiative for the embattled nation — namely due to fears of provoking an already engaged Russia. Due to NATO policy, if Ukraine were to gain admission, all member states would be required to intervene on the country’s behalf.
But, dancing around the issue of Ukrainian NATO membership for so long has emboldened Russia to move forth with encroaching on the autonomy of Europe. This massive failure of the largest military alliance in the world has called into question the legitimacy of supranational bodies to begin with.
This massive failure of the largest military alliance in the world has called into question the legitimacy of supranational bodies to begin with.
International superpowers have stood idly by as Russia attempts to erase the very existence of Ukraine. Bombs have rained over civilians and shrapnel continues to litter the barren streets of Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv and so many more towns and cities. Images of exposed brick apartments reduced to rubble now stand as a symbol for the world’s complacency.
It is easy to stand behind a podium to express concern, and fork out weapons and monetary aid to put on an empathetic face. While U.S. citizens have the gall to complain about hiked up gas prices and an inflated trip to their local Safeway, Ukrainian citizens spent the holiday season wondering when the skies will be illuminated by something other than stars.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time the United States has been criticized for its lack of conflict sensitivity or has failed to uphold its international commitments on behalf of the global good. Whether it was refusing to categorize the elimination of Tutsis in Rwanda as genocide or providing little assistance to South Sudanese citizens in the midst of an unprecedented famine and drought, the United States has often remained quiet when mass tragedy strikes outside its borders.
It is important to note the Eurocentric angle foreign news takes in America. The contrast between the headlines spent on Ukraine and those reporting on the current authoritarian oppression women face in Iran makes it very clear that specific regions of the world are awarded more attention from Washington than others, in part due to their proximity to Europe.
This presents a plurality of darkness, one that not only fails to secure Ukrainian sovereignty, but also renders certain states over others into even further oblivion.
This presents a plurality of darkness, one that not only fails to secure Ukrainian sovereignty, but also renders certain states over others into even further oblivion.
As the world lurches into a new year, the time has come to broaden social awareness to the rest of the globe. The dialogue raised by the conflict in Ukraine should extend to every country faced with tumultuous upheaval. Our collective efforts to bring Ukraine into the fold should light the way for more inclusive, widespread action through treaties and other nongovernmental organizations.
A ripple effect can have both positive and negative connotations. It is the choices we make that determine that dichotomy. We can allow complacency to shove the world into the darker shadows, or add fuel to spark a pathway of progression.
Our empathy is the only light that can incentivize change. The news can be a grim place, but a necessary one. Without its candor, we are blinded by narratives spun to make us believe that realities beyond our own personal experiences do not matter.
I know I was blinded until I stepped off the Bahnhof platform and saw black buildings outline my own watering eyes.
