A forum discussion about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine was held at 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 9 in the Paul Meek Library to discuss the conflict from various perspectives. The forum was the first in a series hosted by the College of Business and Global Affairs and the Paul Meek Library.
Drs. Philip Acree Cavalier, provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs; Chara Van Horn, associate professor of Mass Media and Strategic Communications; Alice-Catherine Carls, Tom Elam Distinguished Professor of History; Carrie Humphreys, assistant professor of Political Science; Adnan Rasool, assistant professor of Political Science; and Drake Nikita Box, a senior Mass Media and Strategic Communications major from Dyersburg all spoke at the panel. Josh Thompson, a senior Political Science major from Union City, served as moderator.
Cavalier provided insight on the crisis based on his experience living in Kyiv while he was a student in the Fulbright Program. He quoted a passage written by Anna Politkovskaya, an investigative journalist known for her coverage of the Second Chechen War, which occurred while Cavalier was a student.
“I want to say that what is happening now is exponentially more extreme, but this is not a new way of behaving for Vladimir Putin,” Cavalier said. “Certainly Chechnya showed that. The world doesn’t know much about that second war in Chechnya when he was prime minister, and I think what we’re seeing now is this playing out at a much larger scale, but I don’t think any of us should expect that the outcome should be any different or that there will be a desire to honor people’s lives.”
Van Horn discussed the conflict based on her research of rhetoric and propaganda. She detailed how the Russian media system, which is currently censoring outside information, is covering the crisis, as well as a larger goal to stir up anti-American sentiment.
“It’s a cycle that we have seen before. When you unite a people against a common enemy, it makes scapegoating that enemy possible, and then it makes it possible for people who would normally not have an issue with another people to execute them at large,” Van Horn said. “That, I think, is the scariest part about this rhetoric. It’s not that it’s not Ukraine, not what’s going on in Ukraine, it’s what comes after.”
Carls gave insight where refugees are going during this time as well as how they are responding to the crisis. She also compared the crisis to the German invasion of Poland in 1939.
“The world has failed to recognize the birth of a tyrant. We must now, and this is what I want you to remember. We must now be together with the refugees: help each other and people in this time as human family,” Carls said.
Humphreys specializes in politics concerning the European Union, so she outlined the EU’s response to the conflict. The response included placing sanctions on both Russia and Belarus, sending money and weapons to help Ukraine defend against the attacks, diplomacy attempts and a long-term mission to lower reliance on Russian fuel. Humphreys also addressed various requests that Ukraine has made of the EU as well as their likelihood of being granted.
“I’m not sure that you have a lot of hope and put a lot of stock into the fact that any deals will be held by parties currently… They don’t want this to get any worse. They very much condemn the situation,” Humphreys said.
Rasool, who teaches a course on war and peace and studies political economics, sought to discuss potential reasons for the conflict as well as long-term effects on our fuel prices and international alliances. He made the case that wars start for two main reasons: greed and grievances.
“What is going on in Ukraine at this stage has ramifications, which are long-term and do not only impact Europe; it impacts all of us in different ways. For instance, for us, in the US, and in North America in general, gas prices are going up. This is going to have a modeling effect,” Rasool said. “But what it also does is it opens up discussion on the validity of security alliances like NATO.”
Box, the final panelist, gave his perspective as someone with personal connections to both America and Ukraine; he was adopted from Donetsk at 2 years old. He expressed that all the country of Ukraine wants is the opportunity to live free from fear of Russian interference and implored those in attendance to support and fight for Ukraine to the best of their ability.
“All the Ukrainian people want to do is to wake up and say, ‘Okay, I’m in Ukraine; I’m not in Russia. I am in my own country. I’m in my own land, and I want to be able to vote for who I want to vote for,’” Box said. “And that’s the great thing about democracy, because we have a choice, and Ukraine wants the choice, and that choice for us is opportunity.”
After each panelist gave their introduction, they answered questions from students, faculty and community members. Topics discussed included the potential effects of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership and reputation; the international response compared to the 2014 Syrian refugee crisis; the agricultural effect of the crisis; the choice of sanctions over military action; and the relationship between China, India and Russia.
When asked how Americans can help individually or as a group, Box and Carls suggested researching various charities and organizations, praying for Ukraine and its people and making sure to only share information from reputable sources.
“Make sure that you do everything you can to research and find organizations that you feel fit what you want to do to help, and I would just like to say from a Ukrainian, thank you very much,” Box said.
