Between the World Cup, the rise in respiratory viruses, the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel saga, overflowing emergencies and inflation, the war in Ukraine is forgotten.
When armed conflict erupted between Russia and Ukraine last February, images of bombed cities, civilians fleeing their homes for Poland, and women and children huddled in makeshift shelters dominated the news. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was made a hero. His messages, speeches and public appearances were broadcast in near real time. We were moved to see the fathers kissing their wives and children as they prepared to separate, one for frontline service, the others to find refuge in a neighboring country.
But since then we seem to have become inaccessible to this conflict. It seems that Ukraine has been added to this too long list of countries at war or in social crisis that leave us almost indifferent. Ukraine has evidently joined Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Myanmar, Syria, Haiti, etc. in a list of countries that we hardly or hardly talk about every day.
How is it that our reactions change so quickly? How is it that we become desensitized to the misfortunes and tragedies of alien populations as they occur over time? On the contrary, shouldn’t we stand up more clearly when we see that the situation is not resolved?
In addition, this raises serious questions about how we consume the news. Similar to the “fast fashion” phenomenon, we become interested in the drama of the moment, in the novelty of the bad news, and then push the initial feelings out of our heads, leaving room for a degree of indifference, even rejection, of the dramatic news. but oh so real.
Even the most twisted of bloodthirsty dictators can take advantage of this phenomenon. Vladimir Putin laughs into the beard he doesn’t have when he sees how much we have forgotten what he did and what he continues to do in Ukraine. Iranian dictators must be tense when they compare our response to the death of Mahsa Amini to our lackluster response to the recent executions of protesters.
The truth is that day after day, conflict after conflict, we are demonstrating that there is no real and effective solidarity and that we live in an individualistic world where everyone is for themselves. Let’s look in the mirror and let’s face it, we’re just a bunch of self-centered people.
