We Owe It to The Victims of Fire and War



	We Owe It to The Victims of Fire and War Brandon Sun “Small World” Column, Monday, June 9 / 25 Zack Gross These are difficult days on Planet Earth. In the Middle East, a horrific conflict and humanitarian situation has unfolded in recent years, with innocent people on all sides suffering tremendous loss of lives, limbs and property. Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, there have been years of fighting and destruction, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, destroying structures, families and dreams of living in peace. Here in Canada, another battle is underway, a battle against nature, via wildfire, caused by our own negligence toward our home world. In Western Canada, fires are ravaging towns and communities, forcing tens of thousands of people out of their homes, making them climate crisis refugees, not knowing when or if they will be able to return to their homes, and what they will find if they get there. Many of us have a connection to this situation, either because we’ve lived there, such as in Flin Flon in Manitoba and La Ronge in Saskatchewan, or because friends or family have lived there. We may be donating to the Red Cross whose fundraising will be tripled by government sources, or we may be taking clothes or supplies to reception centres to help people meet their basic needs. In Ukraine, hundreds of drones attack from Russia almost daily and the invading army controls about 20% of the country. A brave and resourceful people fend off the attackers but at best can only maintain a fragile stalemate. It is not only Ukrainians who are the victims, but also Russians, who are fighting in Ukraine, many without a choice and not truly knowing what it is all about. While one doesn’t expect Mr. Putin to do “the right thing”, one can’t count on Mr. Trump to clearly come to Ukraine’s aid either. Maybe their aspirations for personal wealth and glory are too similar. As I’ve written in this column before, the 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote a groundbreaking book, "Perpetual Peace," decrying humanity’s warlike persona. He wondered why people went to war when there were so many negatives associated with it. First of all and most important, people in massive numbers are killed. This was not only a personal, emotional loss but also a loss to local workplaces, industries and the economy. War meant the destruction of schools, hospitals, parks, government buildings, and also the loss of roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructure. When a war ended, years of occupation, revenge and overall tension would continue. The situation in the Middle East is another case in point. It is likely a less clear cut case in the minds of Canadians, compared to the invasion of Ukraine. Only a few would see Russia’s invasion as acceptable, based on Putin’s fear of the West encroaching on Russia’s security. In Israel and Palestine, debate continues about how to deal with competing concerns: the October 7th Attack by Hamas on Israeli communities, the killing and kidnapping of citizens, the ensuing response from the Israeli government bent on destroying Hamas and, seemingly, all of Gaza, the withholding of aid, the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the long history of occupation by Israel in Palestinian areas, the history of insecurity Israel has lived with under the threat of attack by Arab States, and ultimately the millennia of fractious history between Jews, Christians and Muslims in the region. We have not yet found a way to change the trajectory of the three examples I have used in this column – climate change, Ukraine-Russia, and Israel-Palestine. I am aware of the arguments, ideologies, disinformation, fear and emotions on all sides. We have family who own a lovely home in the La Ronge area, now threatened by an unpredictable and massive fire, and we’ve watched the news video of the burning of Robertson’s Store in La Ronge, which was an incredible treasure trove of indigenous artifacts and clothing, now just ashes. I’ve followed the situation in Israel and Ukraine closely, as I’ve been to Israel in the past and actually briefly lived and worked many years ago in one of the communities that was attacked. And, more than 100 years ago, my family came to Canada from Ukraine to escape poverty and discrimination. Borrowing a headline from the Globe & Mail, we owe it to the peacemakers to find our way out of the morass in the Middle East. Some may recall the name Vivian Silver, a Canadian-Israeli peace activist, originally from Winnipeg (where she and I went to school together) who worked closely with the Palestinian community, and who was killed on that fateful Oct. 7. We owe it to her. And we owe it to the people being burned out on the Prairies and we owe to it Ukraine to find our way to peace, security, justice and a sustainable environment. It’s easy to stand back and complain or theorize, but if you have “skin in the game,” you feel you need to do something to make things much better. Zack Gross is Board Chair of The Marquis Project, a Brandon-based international development organization, and co-author of the new book The Fair Trade Handbook: Building a Better World, Together. * * * * * Return to Articles page