Runki Goswami

Lives Not Lived: The Colossal Human Tragedy of War

On February 24, President Putin changed the course of history by launching a full-scale war on Ukraine. The event has perhaps sparked one of the biggest security crises Europe has seen since WWII. The political and economic impact of this conflict will be massive. But the human tragedy will leave deep, profound scars that no amount of diplomatic efforts and financial backing will be able to wipe out. As the Russia-Ukraine standoff intensifies, it is leaving a trail of tragedy, death, and destruction in its wake. The images from the war zone that many of us see from the comforts of our home are as poignant as they are shocking.

Seven-year-old Alisa Hlans, just three months shy of her eighth birthday, died when her kindergarten was hit by heavy shelling on day two of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine close to its northeast border. Six-year-old Sofia and her baby brother Ivan, barely a few weeks old, were killed along with their mother and grandparents as they tried to escape the Russian advance in southern Ukraine. Sofia, Ivan, and Alisa’s heartbreaking stories are amongst the many civilian deaths being reported across news desks the world over. Maybe if life were not snuffed out, Alisa would have grown to become a groundbreaking quantum computing scientist. Or Ivan was a would-be composer—the most outstanding musician in the world.

Alas, we’ll never know. That is the sordid tragedy of war—lives and potential lost. Since 2014, a turning point in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, 14,000 people have been killed , including 3,000 civilians. And who can forget the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 tragedy, a commercial airliner shot down by a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine? The aircraft had 298 souls on board, including 80 children. All lost. Besides the loss of human life, more than one million people have been forced to leave their homes in eastern Ukraine. And conflicts in other regions worldwide have shown us what a catastrophic refugee crisis can look like. In war, the unbridled pursuit of a military solution, everyone loses. And while humanity may have had a long history of indulging in warfare, the loss is irreversible, gruesome, and affects both sides. In today’s connected, digital world, social media amplifies the travesty with the truth slanted in every way possible. It is well recognized that the 21st century has seen a significant increase in global conflict and state-sponsored violence.

Against this backdrop, a positive step forward is possible only when willing political leaders and global businesses come together and seek a diplomatic solution to the current impasse. Beginning with acknowledging the crisis (without taking sides), every corporate citizen must speak up against the senseless violence and insist on giving peace talks a chance. The more voices that chime in, the louder the message is. From contributing to the dialogue and mobilizing humanitarian assistance to offering analytical support, corporate citizens can contribute significantly in mitigating this crisis. All we need is the will.

Runki Goswami

Gurgaon, Haryana, India 5K followers 500+ connections

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Newgen Software

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Education

Indian School of Business

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