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A PARTNERSHIP IN RUINS

07/04/2022 08:13:00 Chris Morgan

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Over the past two years, the coronavirus has delivered an impact of staggering proportions in terms of loss of human life.

The future of COVID-19? Uncertainty hovers, though confidence may prevail. In terms of the sheer intensity of human and material destruction, and now the very serious allegations of war crimes by Russian soldiers, the invasion of Ukraine has delivered a shock of unmatched dimensions. And the global repercussions, especially sanctions, from the Russia/Ukraine war will affect the rest of the world for a long time. We don’t even know when the killing will end. And when searching for adequate retribution for the wrongs by Russia, the rest of the world will be virtually powerless.

In terms of deaths caused by COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there is of course no comparison. COVID-19 has precipitated the death of over six million people. While many already had co-morbidities, COVID-19 ruthlessly cut short millions of lives that might have had many years to run. We don’t yet know how many soldiers and civilians have lost their lives in Ukraine, but it will be many thousands; with four million Ukrainian civilians having fled the country. For most of the latter group, the shock, loss of home, other resources and personal security probably count as close to a living death as you can possibly get.

What is perhaps the most significant difference between the two most outrageous ‘invasions’ in global society since World War II, is that, in the case of COVID-19, we saw the entire world in partnership, united and collaborating to fight the enemy. When Russia invaded Ukraine without any justification for doing so, we saw that impressive global partnership split viciously into pieces. And regardless of the outcome in Ukraine, that is where the situation will remain for a long time to come. Sanctions will probably end up hurting the West almost as much as the Russians. And most of the Russian people don’t deserve to suffer either.

Feeling

How sad that all is! And adding to the deep disappointment is the feeling – almost one of shame – that the world failed to anticipate the degree of inhumanity lurking within those we trusted as global partners. We’ve seen shocking events like 9/11 but nothing can match the sustained, widespread and utterly merciless attacks carried out by the Russian army against thousands of innocent adults and children who had done nothing to deserve such abominable treatment; and just imagine the dreadful survival ordeals of the Ukrainian civilians. Yet the warning signs were there back in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists to take over the eastern parts of Ukraine. The reaction of the West at the time was rather tame, and all was soon swept under the carpet. The former president of the United States, the morally-challenged Donald Trump, has even been on Putin’s side in Ukraine’s long struggle against Russian aggression. Perhaps even more staggering was that, in 2016, the world’s greatest democracy voted Trump in as its president. Much enlightened, the same people later voted him out.

All Russians are not ruthless killers, but its leadership are. Whether that’s one man or a small group of individuals with the same obsession about re-uniting the long-disintegrated Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), we don’t seem to know. And there is a very well organised system set up in Russia to intimidate people and prevent dissension. How, you might think, can one person, or a few of similar disposition, dominate an entire country of 145 million otherwise decent people? Hmm, er, someone called Adolf Hitler did it 85 years ago.

Control

In World War II he invaded innocent, honourably-led countries in order to control them. He motivated an entire nation of otherwise decent people, brainwashing them into wanting Aryan supremacy and the colonisation of Europe under German control. Today, it is Putin brainwashing the Russian people into thinking Ukraine was a threat to Russia and dominated by Nazism.

The fundamental decency of the German and Japanese people has been amply demonstrated in the years that followed the Second World War. And added to that has been Germany’s development of the strongest economy in Europe, having flourished even after unifying with the economically crippled East Germany in 1989. Germany went on to become a champion of the European Union. They are forgiven for the Second World War, not least because it was their predecessors who did the damage. But the lesson has been learnt by all – that a nation can be controlled by the few, and compelled to behave in complete contrast to its fundamental principles. With COVID-19 we were one people, one team fighting the enemy. With the Ukraine invasion we are not remotely one people. That partnership is gone; in ruins. And it will be a long time before we are able to look at the Russian nation in the eye and see again a reliable friend and global partner.