‘Even the most radical pacifist would find it hard to condemn the Ukrainians for fighting back.’ Photo: by FLY:D on Unsplash
Ukraine invasion: John Lampen asks what the war might be telling us?
‘We can be models of peace amid the conflict.’
Events like the invasion of Ukraine are a challenge to pacifists. It is difficult to state our beliefs with confidence when we doubt whether there is a practical alternative to fighting for the Ukrainians – apart from surrender. But I can’t give up my convictions just because they are being severely tested. So I have to ask myself: What is the war in Ukraine actually telling me?
Firstly, what we are seeing must reinforce our determination to oppose war. The destruction, the crimes, the general suffering (which hurts the old and the children most), the environmental cost, the loss of so much which is necessary, useful or beautiful, all tell me that no goal short of the sheer need to survive can justify such means. Having worked with dying Chernobyl children, I am appalled at the threat to the Zaporizhzha nuclear plant.
But even the most radical pacifist would find it hard to condemn the Ukrainians for fighting back. They show little triumphalism, even after recent successes. A woman from Kharkiv recently told us, ‘We believe in the victory of Ukraine!’, but continued on to say that, ‘Upset by the political and economic decisions of the current government, the consequences will be felt for a long time, even after the end of the war. We hope that our nation will have the courage to overcome the internal enemy: corruption, lawlessness.’
Though I won’t criticise the resistance, I can still state clearly that it cannot bring a solution. Ukraine has no chance of outright victory, considering Russia’s resources, which are huge even though poorly developed. Ukraine can only keep going because of massive input by the West, which may not continue indefinitely. Where victory is impossible, wars end through negotiation.
Our Ukrainian friends have told us how grateful they are to the United Kingdom for its leading role in supporting their country. Therefore we should find ways to ask our government to take a broader view – not simply to reinforce their military, but to explore whatever diplomatic means are available to mitigate and eventually end the hostilities. In this vein, Swedish Friends wrote to their government last May, saying: ‘By providing military assistance to Ukraine, Sweden has also abandoned its long tradition of remaining neutral in war. All the knowledge about diplomacy and mediation the country has accumulated over the past 200 years as well as the traditional image of Sweden as a nation of peace have been sacrificed. Instead of stubbornly pleading and working for vital peace initiatives, Sweden contributes to maintaining the war.’
There are small things that pacifists can do while the conflict continues. The Quaker Peace Statement (see news, 25 November) lists supporting conscientious objectors on all sides, and nonviolent civil resisters in Ukraine, defends the rights of refugees, and seeks to strengthen international law.
We can also find ways to help Ukrainians personally, such as giving a home to refugees, or writing to contacts in Russia in an effort to change hearts and minds. My wife and I correspond with a number of Ukrainian friends who belong to the Alternatives to Violence (AVP) network, listening to their concerns and sending them love and encouragement. We were able to contribute to Alla in Odessa, so she can buy medicines and take them to elderly people in the conflict areas. Karina, in exile in Poland, is using journaling techniques that I showed her when we worked together. She is on her fourth volume: ‘I don’t write in it every day, but it is my true friend in difficult times; when you don’t know what to say to yourself, it knows what to ask you to get an answer.’
These friends show extraordinary courage, with a heroic struggle not to be overwhelmed by hatred. Irina from Kharkiv recently wrote, ‘We try to adapt to the new realities of life, combine work schedules with power outage schedules, and keep the light inside us. The latter is the most difficult, because the killing of civilians and especially children is very difficult to accept. Today, a Russian rocket killed a baby born just two days ago… We try to preserve the values of AVP by supporting each other.’
I learned during the conflict in Northern Ireland how important it is to look beyond today’s events and imagine what shape peace is going to take. Martin Luther King Jnr, drawing on Gandhi, said, ‘Be the peace you wish to see in the world.’ Just as Christians are told to live as if the Kingdom of God is already here, we can be models of peace amid the conflict.
After the war, Ukraine will be a deeply traumatised and damaged country. Our AVP friends have already asked us for materials which they are using with children and families to heal hearts and minds, and to create the dream of a better, fairer and safer society than they had before the war. ‘We want to create a creative space of acceptance and care in which people can receive healing through creativity and we are doing quite well.’ While Odessa was being shelled, Alla wrote ‘I see this horror taking away people’s values now, their faith. It’s important that we don’t lose this war within us. I hug you! And thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers. Keep us in the Light, it’s very important, especially now.’
The war challenges me to look at my own reactions too. When I see my friends under bombardment trying to be beacons of peace, I ask whether I am living up to the same standard? For example, how do I feel about the Russian people and especially the soldiers? There is no possible justification for their war crimes. As Alla says, ‘I am still in shock at what has been happening in the occupied territories in Bucha, Irpin and other towns and villages. It is beyond human understanding. The gap between Russia and Ukraine is enormous right now. What worries me is the torrent of rage that rises in some people. Evil has its own tools – and it’s important to understand and see that.’ But it is also possible to see that those men are ill-trained and ill-prepared, stuffed with falsehoods, and dragged into a war which they do not understand. They are frightened, driven back and humiliated by the courage of their opponents. There is a sense in which they are victims too. The Ukrainians allow Russian prisoners to phone their mothers back home. It is a clever move to get a contrasting storyline into Russia, but also a deeply humane gesture.
Can we counter the thinking in our own leadership, which needs to identify someone as ‘the enemy’? Can we recognise how western triumphalism since the fall of communism has helped provoke this crisis? Can we accept that atrocities attributed to the Russians can be found, not so long ago, in our own histories too? Unless we can make our own thinking more peaceful, we are not ready to urge pacifism on others.
A letter from the Ukrainian peace movement on the situation can be found at https://cpnn-world.org/new/?p=29286.
Comments
I keenly appreciate John Lampen’s enlightened article that complements the article entitles The Weapons are Winning that I submitted to The Friend recently. It is also about the war in Ukraine and the testing of Friends peace testimony when we are implicitly letting violence be as we have no alternative..
By jarmans@phonecoop.coop on 8th December 2022 - 18:27
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