Everyone's war

Although the war front is in Ukraine, at least for the moment, the war affects all of us. More so the Europeans, because of the geographic proximity, but also the rest of the world. The reach of its effects and consequences is the negative side of the universalisation that has been taking place in recent years.

The speed with which the pandemic spread demonstrated that. It is astonishing how fast that virus expanded over the five continents. And, just like that wretched virus, the general crisis it is leaving behind. Nobody has been exempt from its effects, rich or poor, on the left wing or the right wing of politics.

The same thing is happening with this latest savage warfare. The ambitions and fantasies of a new Hitler are causing death, pain and exile in a society which was living in peace, that was trying to enjoy a freedom it had never had before and was looking to a future which was aligned with the wishes of its inhabitants.

A large part of the international community is reacting by imposing drastic economic sanctions against the aggressor. These are the ones that normally hurt the most, although in a case of such obstinacy there are doubts about whether they will be effective in stopping the aggression.

The Russian economy will suffer from the very first moment and many of its privileged citizens will feel the pain in their cheque books. But these measures also affect others. The economies of countries will all feel the effects, just at the moment when they are trying to recover from the pandemic.

The universalisation of movements, communications and financial activities will go into reverse in situations like this one, and measures designed to stop those who break the rules can cause problems to other people, such as Russia being expelled from the SWIFT banking system.

Finding themselves deprived of this international payment system will be a mortal blow for Russian financiers.

But it will also complicate banking and commercial activity in the rest of the countries.

Everyone knows that a war can only bring misfortune and problems, and the one in Ukraine will be no different.

Unfortunately, this regrettable experience leaves two feelings in the air. One, a rejection of today's Russia, which seems incapable of detaching itself from its imperialist mentality and from its enlightened leader, who went from managing the Czechs to governing a country which is not capable of adopting democracy and respect for others.

The second is admiration for the heroic example of the Ukrainians in the face of the aggression and slaughter they are suffering.

The international solidarity they are awakening is another example of how, in this world that we consider dehumanised, people can still come together for a common cause.