By Riha Jaishi
Our humanity has been witnessing wars since time immemorial and painfully persists to inflict its terror to this very day. The ruins never really made their exit from the soul of humanity, hence, imprinting the chapters of history. The world nonetheless had undergone a paradigm shift post the two devastating World Wars. This transition further paved the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations. The step brought the countries closer as they started developing trade ties. Within no time, the world moved in the direction of what we call globalization. The nations began interconnecting with each other and tried maintaining healthy relationships irrespective of the involvement of any tussle. The essence of war was thrashed to the bottom. Nobody would take the tiniest of risks to endanger the interests of one’s country. And this was only feasible by maintaining stable bonds with the respective countries by strengthening diplomatic ties.
For once we were swayed by the mere belief that the history of catastrophic wars was over until another ‘soon to be catastrophic’ made its bombastic entry. It was not like we were bereaved of wars or battles taking place on a micro-level. But they weren’t as intimidating and stressful as the recent one. The invasion of Russia over Ukraine and its ongoing repercussions have been paving in an unimaginable magnitude, worsening with each passing day. The war waged by Russia owing to its interest is escalating with increasing atrocities on the citizens of Ukraine. They are compelled to flee to other countries and take refuge by leaving behind everything they had worked for years.
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Not only has the war been solely responsible for physical destruction by having the materialistic world collapse into debris, but wars have swept off peaceful living through bloodshed where innumerable people meet their untimely death. Additionally, the psychological impact also heavily inflicts masses that have to witness and undergo deadening situations, thus impacting them to the core. War has never been pleasant to anyone. However, it has been more excruciating for the women kind given the number of sexual assault cases that have come upfront. Women are facing the wrath of war in the worst possible manner. This is highly in tune with the current scenario in Ukraine. The assaults are being committed by the opposition military power at large, where none of the laws stop them from committing such heinous crimes. Right from children to adults, everyone is undergoing a horrifying state.
This is not appalling, given the list of wars that have managed to break down women from their core. To be precise here, this has been persisting for ages. Dating back to partition turmoils, world wars, and wars before them, women have always suffered additionally, where their sense of trauma never reached a closure. Their suppression got the best in men. Isn’t the war tormenting enough that additionally, they have to undergo more aggravating situations?
From an analytical point of view, we can say that these wars have frequently resulted from a leader’s ego. The ego is fuelled regularly which makes the individual believe that he/she is omnipotent enough to make rash decisions without having to consider the consequences that may follow. The thirst for power and the means to retain it makes the leading personality ravenous. Hence, they are called megalomaniacs. This greed is further assisted by pride, thereby making the situation grim. The leader takes pride in waging wars without any hesitations, but the consequences are borne by the civilians, who have nothing to contribute to the situation except being the citizens of the nation. The identity that resonates with their nation pushes them to extreme consequences.
Interestingly, the thirst for power is such that never ceases with time, but rather expands with the flow of time. As a result, leaders trying to stick to their throne and unwilling to lose against their enemies push their minds to the level of insanity that has no pause. They would go on waging wars or invasions until that satiates their ego, no matter the level of bankruptcy that welcomes their way. Citing the instance of Russia, we see that the leader is unapologetically sending troops to conquer Ukraine irrespective of knowing the fact that his country’s economy is dwindling in the worst manner. No matter how much the country drains away, the invasion should not come to an end until the demands are met. This kind of mindset does not empathize with what the country or its citizens undergo, but it is only aware of how to feed its ego heartily.
Moreover, war is something that not only entails physical or mental destruction, as mentioned earlier, but it completely drains the finances of the economy that is diverted to manufacturing weapons and missiles. The budget of the country is emphasized only on arming itself, and other crucial factors of running a country are sidelined. Besides, Russia as a country has been charged with several sanctions from other countries. This is a long list of restrictions that have shunned or dimmed down trade ties between Russia and the countries that have laid prohibitions against Russia. The export and import services between the countries have halted. And surprisingly, Russia is not the only country that is bearing the brunt of these sanctions. The countries that have laid prohibitions on Russia are undergoing a similar turmoil. Apart from these sanction-laid countries, the rest of the world is equally being inflicted by the halt in trade services in general. The interdependency among the countries is affecting everyone. This is how the reach of globalization has led so far. War is waged in Ukraine, and sanctions are laid against Russia, but the interesting fact is that the world is in chaos. Countries are undergoing a crisis in commodities and price rise. On the other hand, the leader has turned a blind eye to the atrocities inflicting its country and the world. If this basic thing does not get into the leader’s mind, then what’s the point of holding or seeking absolute power, when the humanitarian side in him has vanished.
Our world is at a stage where we have not fully recovered from the covid phase, which continues to haunt parts of the world. And now this war is contributing more to the hardships that people have been trying to omit. Leaving a difficult phase behind, we are entering yet another phase of turmoil that is gripping the world. With unending days to war, we are left to presume and question ourselves about how long the war will continue and will this be a start to what netizens term as the next devastating world war?
