From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 524):
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!
Psalm 74:10-11
I was always used to thinking that Ukraine is a small and insignificant country — that was the result of the inferiority complex instilled in Ukrainians since the days of the dominance of the Russian Empire and was well-maintained in Soviet times and long after Ukraine gained its independence. From geography lessons, I knew that Ukraine is the largest country in Europe, but the inferiority complex would chime in to convince me that Ukraine could hardly be called Europe. The more I learned about my country and its past, the better I could see the objective reality, understanding that Ukraine is neither small nor insignificant.
Today, Ukraine is fighting the war that is incomparable to anything Europe has experienced in the past 100 years. Even though it is technically not called a “world war,” its scale is unprecedented. And the aftermath of this war is going to be as trying.
I came across an article that claimed that in Ukraine, amputations already evoke the scale of World War I — between 20 and 50 thousand people estimated to have lost limbs. The actual number might differ, but they also refer to the static that 200,000 people have suffered severe wounds, and 10% of them need amputations.
This number is stunning, and the war is far from over. We’ll need to learn to make our cities accessible to people with disabilities. We’ll need to teach our children how to help these people in public places with proper respect and care. We’ll need to be patient and tolerant to help those people readjust to their new life. We’ll need to remember to be grateful to them for their disability is the price they paid to save our lives.
These statistics only talk about people who have lost limbs, but the war’s devastating toll on our people goes well beyond this group.
Lord, have mercy and help us face these coming challenges with dignity and Your wisdom.
Voice of Ukraine 
3 responses to “8/2/2023 – We’ll need to remember to be grateful to them for their disability is the price they paid to save our lives”
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J.R.R.Tolkien, veteran of WWI and WWII, put these words in the mouth of a soldier who, for years, had served to protect his home and the lands beyond it: “War must be while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”
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Chandra, a great quote from a great man!
Heavenly Father, protect Ukraine militia–give them success!
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