Michael Arango - Ukraine Presentations Reflection

This assignment was incredibly enlightening on the situation that has taken place in Ukraine. Everyone brought a unique perspective to how this war has affected the people involved and painted a detailed picture of what happens when millions of people come together to defend their livelihoods. They also taught me to appreciate the simple joys of life that we take for granted because, like for the people of Ukraine, they can be taken away so easily. Seeing so many first hand accounts of Ukrainians fighting to protect their country and families endeared me to them greatly, and helped me understand how devastating the cost of war is.  

Group 1’s presentation was very informative in showing the far-reaching consequences of this war. It is terrifying to think of how many people will be left homeless due to the attacks destroying huge parts of major cities. The work of keeping all these people safe and sheltered will be very challenging and costly. I was surprised to see all the different ways that both Ukraine’s economy and the global economy will be affected by this war. The impact of millions of people fleeing the country will cause a massive decline in Ukraine’s economy. I also didn’t consider that many countries in the area rely on Russia as a major economic power, so the disruption the Russian economy faces along with world wide sanctions will have lasting effects in Central Asia. 

My research into the matters of education opened my eyes to the struggles and trauma children go through during a war. I cannot imagine how painful and disturbing it must be for the millions of children in Ukraine to see the place that embodies their whole world be attacked and tainted for the interests of greed. I’ve learned how important it is to maintain stability for children through attending school and seeing friends and how serious the effects of tearing a child away from these normalities can be. A significant delay in a child’s education can also have lasting effects on their performance in school and make it harder for them to progress to higher education. My worry is that this will affect the majority of children throughout Ukraine, leading to widespread developmental issues in that generation and a decline in skilled workers which Ukraine desperately needs to rebuild in the aftermath of the war. After seeing the extent of the damage done to education facilities throughout Ukraine, and how many students have had to relocate and integrate into schools all across Europe, I hope that greater efforts can be made to bring things back to normal. 

Group 3’s section brought attention to the difficulties that the healthcare system has to deal with during the war. The people of Ukraine suffer a heavy physical and psychological toll due to fighting in the war and abruptly uprooting their lives to escape to safety. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for the hospitals to handle the massive numbers of injuries and deaths brought by the war while still trying to manage the active COVID pandemic. The weight of the mental trauma that this war brings is unbearable but the people of Ukraine have been incredibly brave during this nightmare. I hope their government and the rest of the world will support them in the future with the necessary counseling and treatments to work through this tragedy.