Spokesperson is wrong to compare Ukraine to Nazis or apartheid SA
03 March 2022 - 15:00
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The Ukrainian national flag is seen in front of a school which, according to local residents, was on fire after shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine February 28 2022. Picture: REUTERS/VITALIY GNIDYI
Like everything else in the world the situation in Ukraine cannot be boiled down to right versus wrong. It is very complex. However, for Arefiev to compare what Russia is doing to freeing the population from some government that is comparable to Nazi Germany or apartheid SA is an insult to all and sundry, including his own people back in Russia.
Let us not pretend the West is completely innocent, or that Russia did not have legitimate concerns about Nato moving ever nearer to Moscow. But let us also not suggest or agree that the manner in which Russia has chosen to deal with this is legitimate or even acceptable.
No, after thousands of years of using war to settle our differences we all must do much more to seek the understanding and compassion required to step back from what is basically a human survival instinct — lashing out when we feel threatened in any way. We should seek to understand why we do that and actively find ways to communicate and resolve our differences amicably.
The first step to achieve that is to elect civilian leaders who have the depth and temperament to shepherd us towards peace and security for all concerned, not just their chosen flock. We have our generals when we need them, but their temperament is not appropriate for solving the bigger human picture. It is the sledgehammer for when all else fails.
Maybe it is that thinking in the back of our minds that is the real problem. In the meantime, let us all consider the living and the dying Ukrainians and Russians who have suddenly found themselves as enemies with no clear road to peace within their grasp, and hope for a miracle ending to this increasingly dangerous conflict in the middle of Europe.
Stephen W Burrow, Modderfontein
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Russian embassy insults its own people
Spokesperson is wrong to compare Ukraine to Nazis or apartheid SA
The letters from Alexander Arefiev of the Russian embassy in SA cannot go unanswered (“Butler a slave to Western propaganda”, February 28, and “Russian targets are all military”, March 2).
Like everything else in the world the situation in Ukraine cannot be boiled down to right versus wrong. It is very complex. However, for Arefiev to compare what Russia is doing to freeing the population from some government that is comparable to Nazi Germany or apartheid SA is an insult to all and sundry, including his own people back in Russia.
Let us not pretend the West is completely innocent, or that Russia did not have legitimate concerns about Nato moving ever nearer to Moscow. But let us also not suggest or agree that the manner in which Russia has chosen to deal with this is legitimate or even acceptable.
No, after thousands of years of using war to settle our differences we all must do much more to seek the understanding and compassion required to step back from what is basically a human survival instinct — lashing out when we feel threatened in any way. We should seek to understand why we do that and actively find ways to communicate and resolve our differences amicably.
The first step to achieve that is to elect civilian leaders who have the depth and temperament to shepherd us towards peace and security for all concerned, not just their chosen flock. We have our generals when we need them, but their temperament is not appropriate for solving the bigger human picture. It is the sledgehammer for when all else fails.
Maybe it is that thinking in the back of our minds that is the real problem. In the meantime, let us all consider the living and the dying Ukrainians and Russians who have suddenly found themselves as enemies with no clear road to peace within their grasp, and hope for a miracle ending to this increasingly dangerous conflict in the middle of Europe.
Stephen W Burrow, Modderfontein
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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