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The images of bloodied bodies lying in the streets, burned down shells of hospitals and schools, destroyed churches, mothers weeping for their children, children screaming for their mothers, mass graves…. have faded. Today, people are more interested in the latest TikTok trend, the latest fashions, the coronation of kings, the election of governments, baseball statistics, and plans for summer vacations. Few even think of Ukraine anymore. They have become numb to the war, to the horror, and the constant requests for help… A war, far away, across the ocean, no longer seems relevant.
Yet while the world has become accustomed to the war in Ukraine, the innocent people of Ukraine have not. How does one become accustomed to constant missile attacks? How does one become accustomed to saying “I love you, and goodbye” every day not knowing if they will live to see tomorrow? How does one become accustomed to living without food, when their stomachs growl, and their babies whimper from hunger? How does one become accustomed to having their children kidnapped and taken to Russia to be indoctrinated? How does one become accustomed to no medical care – with their friends, family and neighbors dying from kidney stones, urinary infections, simple cuts that become infected… all of which had been easily curable prior to the invasion? How does one become accustomed to living underground in cellars out of fear of being bombed? How does one become accustomed to suddenly living without electricity, fuel, or even wood to burn for heat and to cook food? How does one become accustomed to not having a warm coat for their child, diapers for their infant, or gloves for their elderly grandmother? How does one become accustomed to being raped? How does one become accustomed to being pulled out of their homes, hands tied, and being shot? How does one become accustomed to living in terror?
