The war in Ukraine has had a desecrating effect, to say the least. To say that I understood why they were at war, would be extremely premature. As I mentioned in class--as Americans, we tend to not remember or notice things that do not directly affect us, however, now that I have done research on what is happening, It is clear that Putin wants a dictatorship, and will make it happen at any cost. The first step to his ongoing plan was expanding NATO. “[E] expanding NATO would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-cold-war era. (The history behind Putin’s war) quote by George Kennan, architect of cold war policy.” (The History Behind Putin’s War in Ukraine) This quote allowed me to understand the perspective of someone who was actually involved in this, many years ago--but to also see how the current war was even possible, and maybe even premeditated. A few key takeaways to note here, are that Russia did in fact commit a crime by invading Ukraine, and it should also be noted that many Russian government officials were taken by surprise by the invasion that took place this past February. These are all things that we are seeing daily, including viral videos that circulated Instagram of people, and journalists--watching the outsides of their homes, and lives as they knew them--literally being blown to pieces. Not only is this a miscarriage of justice--it is inhumane. These are not just soldiers at war, these are regular people fighting for their lives.
Similarly, using what we learned in class about Moreese Stevens take on trauma, we can begin to understand how trauma affects us, and why. Trauma interrupts a subject, breaks that subject down, and affects it at the core. Meaning, even after one traumatic event. I.E, the pandemic, a car accident, loss of a loved one--we are never the same. Subsequently, our genetic makeup is then changed--so try to imagine, fearing for your life on a daily basis, because you have absolutely no idea what will happen to your country next, and not being able to know why certain things are happening because the media is also controlled by the government. Subsequently, causing a constant state of panic, right? Well not necessarily--trauma effects us all differently. For example, “It’s not as bad as Chernobyl” and refuses to react, which is perhaps emblematic of a certain mentality: when you’ve been through so much, you are less inclined to panic.” (Why Did Putin Decide to Invade Ukraine?) I chose this quote because it shows how tense the climate is, and the fact that when you’re constantly going through something, or your country has a history of being in a chaotic state--you are not easily moved by rumors and things of that nature. Furthermore, relating to what Moreese Stevens meant about trauma changing who we are at the core--things that should make you react or feel an emotion, or even things that used to--no longer affect you because your body has gone into trauma response; which, for some, means not responding at all.
Overall, the Ukraine has continued to be collateral damage, as Russia and the Ukraine are not at war--Putin’s need for power, and frustration with the West has caused consistent air-raids in the Ukraine, and left them in an extremely vulnerable position. The truth remains that the U.S media is only covering a small portion of what is truly going on in the Ukraine, due to misinformation being spread, media in Russia and the Ukraine being restricted, and the simple fact that we are not there. “Bombs are dropped in Afghanistan, and you read about it in the newspaper. You can’t see it from across the border.”(Why Did Putin Decide to Invade Ukraine?) I chose this quote because It is a true testament to what is happening right now--us Americans are reading about the things happening in the Ukraine in the newspaper, through viral instagram videos and more. Similarly, as I mentioned in class--a friend of my brother, and former KU basketball player--Svi Mykhiluk, is from the Ukraine, and was having trouble getting his family to the states before everything fell. That is just one personal connection that I have, but there are millions of people in the states, that have family in Ukraine that they cannot reach or get ahold of, because of the war. Furthermore, it is important to understand what is happening, and to make sure we can trust the information that we are receiving, because this is not a movie, this is not something in our history books, real live people are dealing with this daily.
Sources:
An interview with Anatol Lieven, et al. “The History behind Putin's War in Ukraine.” Jacobin, jacobin.com/2022/03/doug-henwood-anatol-lieven-ukraine-russia-putin-sanctions-nuclear-war-history.
An interview with Sophie Pinkham Nick Mulder, et al. “Why Did Putin Decide to Invade Ukraine?” Jacobin, jacobin.com/2022/03/russia-ukraine-putin-invasion-sanctions-ceasefire-interview.
“Three Truths about the Realities of War in Ukraine: A Response to the New York Times.” Wilson Center, www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/three-truths-about-realities-war-ukraine-response-new-york-times.
War completely changes the life of a country and of a human being. Seeing how these videos and photos circulated, one is amazed at what people are capable of acquiring more power. It is something that has always happened throughout the ages. Sometimes I start to think if we have really advanced as inhabitants of the Earth or if we are going backwards. Great job on your analysis of trauma theory. We have taken it as something normal to compare situations of suffering, but we must understand that each time is different, each human being is different, we feel and suffer for different things. That comparison that they made to Chernobyl and comparing that to feeling a little bit of…
Mari, I think you did a great job of expressing your side in the matter and I agree with your point of view. Putin is very power hungry and is fighting based out of emotion and wants. It is very scary for the Ukrainians and the Russians being that both can see the battle from their front porch. The trauma is very deep here. Thank you also for sharing your personal connection. I hope that your friend's family is safe.
Mari, I really enjoyed this post. I like how you centered a lot of the post around the refugees and citizens of Ukraine while putting these events we're seeing at a distance, in the perspective of those actually suffering. The use of the Chernobyl quote was great. It really got the concept of perspective across. These people have been living through tragedies for years and this is yet another. However, the part where you mentioned how many of the people fighting are civilians just trying to defend their homes showed how this war is a new type/ level of trauma.
Mari, I think you do an excellent job of interpretation Stevens' theory on Trauma, and like Marzi, you point out the harm of repeated trauma and what that might mean at both the individual and collective level. You and Marzi I think both show the different effects of this continual trauma, Marzi talked about the continual retraumatization of the individual, which you also mentioned, and you talk about the desensitization that these repeated traumas can cause, like the woman who said "It wasn't as bad as Chernobyl." We as humans tend to weigh things according to our past experiences, so new trauma might not be validated because the individual is comparing that trauma to a larger past trauma. However, trauma…