Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine has already led to hundreds of deaths, countless injuries, and an innumerable toll on human lives. For most of us, experiencing war is utterly incomprehensible — the sheer terror of missiles falling from the sky, explosions devastating homes, packing your entire life in a suitcase, unsure if you’ll ever return.
In this increasingly divisive world, most of us have come together in shared outrage. At the very core, we are incensed by the loss of and impact on life. Humanity binds us. With ongoing coverage, we are real time witnesses. We watch people fleeing, doing what they can to protect their loved ones. We see people with one or two suitcases, their entire lives packed, perhaps never to return. Parents with children and pets hunkered down in subways stations, crying in fear and agony. 
Older folks facing horrors and trauma they never imagined experiencing again, most angry they are too old to fight. When war like this breaks out, we remember the preciousness of life.
Now we must come together for the people of Ukraine. Clearly, Putin and his morally corrupt circle care about power and dictatorship, not human life. It is easy for him to order troops to invade, lecturing from the ivory tower to justify actions, then to be on the ground witnessing, fighting, and risking his own life. Perhaps, he would think twice before launching the war if his own children or family had to join. Where are they? Of course, they are in safety, enjoying freedom, and luxury while the innocent Ukrainian children, men and women are facing the horror of war. We must not forget, and not stop demanding, that no innocent person should ever face such terrifying, barbaric, and inhumane experiences.
While we come together for Ukraine, let us also demand peace and end all other occupations and human suffering. Sadly, Russia’s attack is yet another in a long history of human suffering. This reckless battle is a grave breach of international law and human rights. What is happening on the ground today is inevitably going to cause tremendous pain and suffering in the long run — not only for the people of Ukraine, but also for the Russians, and people around the world. Those who have described this barbaric attack as genius, praised Putin with respect, or even entire countries that have remained silent — history will remember you as the villain, an enemy of human rights and humanity. Part of the catastrophe for us all is the loss of democracy. We have the power to hold our leaders accountable and must put pressure on them to stop this human suffering.
President Eisenhower, during the horrors of World War II said,
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”
Our leaders must take heed. We must remind them. Call or write to your elected officials and let them know we must stand strongly with the people of Ukraine. Share your thoughts in an op-ed or utilize social media to call for peace and safety for Ukraine. Continue to witness, watching and listening closely to what is unfolding and why. Freedom is not free. While we must raise our voices for Ukraine’s freedom, we must also ensure that no Russians face discrimination because of who they are. They did not ask for this. In fact, many are risking their lives in protest. Let’s remember, America’s own democracy hangs in the balance too. We will not realize a world without hate if we do not actively work for it. We must remember, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “injustice anywhere is threat to justice everywhere.”
Let us come together as one, human family and chant – we want a world without violence, a world without victims, and a world without hate.
~ Rais & Jessica Bhuiyan