Is the suffering worth it?

Last week, I saw a very old grey-haired man, propped up by his walking stick, quietly gazing at the ground, waiting outside the doors of an Eastern Main Road bank. To keep him steady, his daughter hugged his right arm. As she later explained, the old man was “over 70 years old.”

The guard told him to wait his turn outside. The late morning sun was in action.

A few of us sitting inside the bank wondered why this old, weak man had to wait outside rather than being invited by the bank's guard or some other alert officer to enter, sit and wait his turn. We felt both sorry and angry and told the bank so.

However, we do not actually witness face to face the suffering and deaths of hundreds of old people in Ukraine. We see that in full-colour television from our living rooms. Imagine, how much more sorrowful is that.

After watching all the suffering, from babies to old people, in Ukraine, the world should now ask, is it worth it? For example, is Ukraine joining NATO or not worth all these innocent deaths, smashed schools, hospitals and daily suffering?

Asking Russia to withdraw unconditionally will not work. Even Caricom should be smart enough to recognise this.

Last week, as the fourth option for the western alliance, I suggested in this column: seek, as a start, a practical compromise with Russia, especially with Vladimir Putin’s concerns over Ukraine and NATO as the central issue. The stand-off is heading into deepened misery and deaths.

We didn’t see the massive deaths and suffering from WWI, nor in full colour from WWII. Reading about it and actually seeing war-driven deaths today are two very different experiences. And when the history of this Russia-Ukraine war is properly written, the question will be asked, why the western alliance did not seek a justifiable compromise, rather than allowing the deadly disaster to continue? With over 1,000 deaths reported so far and thousands of soldiers killed on both sides, is this worth it?

Not only innocent Ukrainians are dead and suffering. Innocent countries across the world will also suffer downstream economic hardships, while the current jacket-and-tie leaders around the non-productive conference tables will not. The economic war to pressure Putin and squeeze Russia out of the global economy will have its effects on the dependent Caribbean.

Whether communist, capitalist or democratic, there is a time when deaths and suffering of innocent people must go beyond artificial ideology. As speculation mounts over “nuclear readiness” and ”chemical warfare,” good sense should now prevail. A Ukrainian delegate warned that Russia's negotiation team said that “Russia will not stop the aggression until Ukraine surrenders.”

The refugee number is now going over 2.5 million. We see people toting old parents on their backs, struggling to escape into other countries while the guns and bombs continue to kill people, smash schools, hospitals and residential buildings.

We didn’t see all this in WWI, nor in WWII. Today, we have a chance to ask: is it worth it?

We see babies crying, wrapped up by mothers against the bitter winter. And we had International Women’s Day last week. President Joe Biden pushed a US$13.5 billion aid package for Ukraine, some for “humanitarian aid,” some for combatting “misinformation in foreign media,” etc. The more desirable “humanitarian” gesture now is for the US and the western alliance to actively seek a quick compromise with Putin.

There are now three wars – military, economic and propaganda. We here deserve a diversity of international news. Again, I express concern that for no apparent reason, Flow cable has removed from my service RT (Russian), CGTN (China), Sky (British) and even Fox (US).

While Ukraine is inevitably losing the war, Russian forces keep moving in. More collateral deaths and suffering are in store. US Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Poland and NATO allies is merely to tighten the alliance, not really to end the war.

Remembering the old man at the bank’s door, it seems we here have a war between compassion and profitable inhumanity. What more will it cost for banks, government agencies and other service-oriented business places to provide facilities to treat with our senior citizens?

We feel sorry for the aged in Ukraine and also for those amongst us.