In my opinion | “Do other wars matter less?”
The war in Ukraine is naturally causing a lot of concern and worry for the wellbeing of Ukrainian and Donbass Civilians within the war zone itself, but also for the wellbeing of both Ukrainian and Russian people who may be living abroad, or perhaps for people who have relatives within the war zone. We understand the importance of this conflict, with its proximity to us and its extreme significance not only globally, but in Europe in particular.
Ordinary people are always the ones to pay the price in international geopolitical conflicts like the one in Ukraine today, which is why we welcome all the resources being made available by the University to students and staff directly affected by this conflict. However, as TU/e students, we would like to draw the University’s attention to the many other conflicts over which there was no public display of support, there were no resources put away for our students and staff from places like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Yemen and many more.
For the past half decade, the people of Yemen have been brutally bombed by Saudi Arabia with western weapons and funding. Yet, to this day, Saudi Arabia remains a close ally of Western states and governments. Where is the condemnation of war by the TU/e? In Iraq and Afghanistan, so called ‘endless wars’ have been waged directly by the United States in the name of a so called ‘War on Terror’. Millions have been killed and displaced, and yet the University remains silent. There is no condemnation of their invasion, no clarity on the existence of usable resources for them, if any. The recent United States withdrawal from Afghanistan once again shed light on what these ‘forever wars’ waged by the United States and its partners actually achieve. Nothing, except for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, and yet there is no condemnation and no statement from our University; no flag raised and no resources clearly available.
In light of all of this, we ask that the university make clear what resources are available for students and staff affected by the conflicts listed above and other areas affected by war, as well as for those people affected by the situation in the Ukraine. The university should make sure all students have the resources they need, and all students feel welcome, whether they be Ukranian, Yemeni, Iraqi, Afghani, Palestinian, Syrian, Russian, Belorussian or any other nationality affected by conflict.
If you agree with the sentiments expressed in this letter, please consider signing and sharing it.
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