Russia and Ukraine under my eyes one year after..(Part one)

 Russian Illegal Invasion in Ukraine 

First, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Iara, and I recently turned 50 years old. I was born in Brazil and raised by artists in the field of Photography, visual arts, and acting. I grew up surrounded by Anti-USA sentiments from actors and writers who dealt with censorship and torture during the Brazilian dictatorship from 1964-1885. I spent part of my life as an exchange student in Idaho and returned to Brazil with more comprehensive insights based on my experiences. I realized that loving and trusting countries and languages can be ideological and seen as competitive market fields. Years passed, and on   February 2022, at 49 years old, living in New Jersey with my husband and furry kids, being deeply involved with justice for animals and climate justice activism, the illegal attack from Russia was the last thing on my mind. It was even more wisted on the same day Russia struck Ukraine unprovoked, illegally. I saw people I respected for being "anti-fascist" and anti-imperialism go along in not condemning Putin and making excuses to stay away from trying to even care for Ukraine.

 Everything changed on February 24, 2022, on a personal level and activism speaking. I have been involved with climate, anti-oppression, and animal activism for a while and have been surrounding myself with scholars, writers, and artists that claimed to be anti-oppression. How can I do any form of activism with others who spread misinformation based on propagandists, Russian bots, and Internet podcasters paid by the kremlin? 

On December 24, 2022, as soon as I turned on my Instagram and Twitter, I was reading the news on the illegal invasion of Ukraine, which I thought would be impossible in 2022. After all, Ukraine is a sovereign country with its constitution. The justification from scholars such as Sabrina Fernandes from Brazil and other social justice accounts and names I could always rely on turned out to be the biggest fraud of morals and ethics. After reading what I was reading on social media, I realized I couldn't go on with my day without writing about my thoughts on that horrific day. I still stand by the words posted on my Instagram, which was that while I am helping to amplify the dangers of climate crises, racism, and cruelty to animals, I denounced the attacks from Russia as illegal to the sovereignty of Ukraine, a country with Its constitution and borders since 1991.

 One of the first accounts I felt I could rely on anti-fascism and have better insights on the horror in Ukraine was the scholar Sabrina Fernandes. As soon as the war news broke down, Sabrina posted a 40 minutes video on Ukraine and Russia, which I started watching. First, she condemned everyone who condemned Putin's illegal invasion and called everyone "Tutologo," which translates to mediocre in geopolitics, which is weird, because this brutal invasion of Ukraine is a matter of knowing the difference between right and wrong and should not be complicated to understand. So I listened to her 40 minutes video, where she talked about sanctions, russophobia, and nazis in Ukraine ( Azov is a far-right group in Ukraine ). Azov is a far-right militia like the ones in Russia, the USA (proud boys, kkk ,etc.), France, Brazil, Canada, etc. When we look up, most countries have their right-wing militias and views but are not in the parliament, they represent a tiny minority, and it doesn't justify invading a whole country over the opinions of a few, especially in democratic nations. However, it is crystal clear that the Azov was not even close to being in parliament, plus president Zelenski is the Jewish grandson of a Holocaust survivor.). Then she talked about corruption in Ukraine, which didn't sound different from other countries or anything that justifies the brutal bombing of civilians. It shouldn't be challenging to understand what is wrong and right. The accusation of "nazis" in Ukraine has become a terrible joke.

After  listening to and reading everything from Sabrina Fernandes on Ukraine, I told myself,
 "OK," I asked while sitting in my chair and watching worldwide media showing Russian missiles targeting children and civilians; I asked on her Instagram account. Quote: "After all that, we still must condemn Putin; nothing justifies such violence against civilians."

Sabrina Fernandes replied:  " But we are not talking about this, are we"?You must go through my youtube videos and read my book". 
OK, I thought to myself, after listening to her for 40 minutes video, not to mention all the years I have been watching her insights and reading her blogs.

 Therefore, what did I listen to? Did she say that her 40 minutes video was not on the invasion of Ukraine? Sabrina Fermandes's video on February twenty-four, 2022, was titled " Russia and Ukraine. I kept silent after her reply because I felt gaslighted. I felt incredibly disappointed as well, not only by her but by many who claimed to be anti-oppression.

After that, I started contacting my social media Ukrainian followers and accounts, such as Journalists, Bloggers, Vegan cafes, and influencers. I realized I was already following Ukrainians before the unprovoked and illegal invasion. 
I used a translator scanner, but Google Translator can work well. Later I remembered the Ukrainian Brazilian towns I visited as a kid, I went after the Ukrainian-Brazilians online, and I found out how Ukrainian Brazilian history, such as Ukranians first immigrated to Brazil in the 1800s who kept their culture, with other immigration waves in different times. 

As I went through the 7.500 people and counties I follow on Instagram and Twitter, suddenly, one of the Ukrainian journalists on Twitter posted a clip of her village being under fire; her parents wouldn't evacuate because of the dogs; however, as the day passed, her parents were killed by a Russian missile. I couldn't stop crying and realized how evil most are by going along with something horrific. I grew up learning a lot about World War2; I always wanted to understand the desire of humans for destruction and to get that low level of evil. I didn't want to see anything like that size of scale war again in Europe or elsewhere. Knowing that the same form of evil happened on the same continent happening again in 2022 is something I was not seeing coming. I am still in shock and didn't even notice the year 2022 passing by. The second phase of this war was trying to identify whataboutism. As I started to feel despair, many vegans I follow pointed out Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria, and other countries that suffer or have suffered an unknown level of injustice. And blamed Nato and the USA, even after knowing Ukraine was neutral. The referendums from Putin were about giving up a country and handling to dictatorship, imperialistic Russia erasing over 46 million people's language, identity, and culture to own a constitution with a democratic system. As I kept double-checking the other tragedies mentioned by the whataboutism crowd, it reminded me how much I knew and felt and wished I learned more and expected their pain to end just as much, but I can still care and think about Ukranian as well. As time passed, I kept seeing more apathy toward Ukraine. That is when I told myself to focus on the Ukrainians and Russians fleeing Russia because I caught myself learning lessons I needed to understand and lectures I will always cherish and keep alive. 

Something I noticed was the amount of animals companions Ukrainians were carrying while they were trying to flee, as I could easily be related to that because of my furry family members, which doesn't mean I don't care about humans; it means that seeing vulnerable animals as the family is a divine gift. This invasion reminded many other things, such as how much the food supply would be affected and who would benefit from it. I started sharing animal shelters in  Ukraine that needed financial help for transportation, food, and rescue. I kept my eyes open at Ukrianians Animal sanctuaries. I felt incredibly inspired by them and everything they were doing for the animals while being bombed by Russia; some of them shared the animals and them in the basement with the bombing in the background. Everything that I saw in these places was absolutely terrifying. I realized I could no longer follow American media because they were telling the news to people who knew absolutely nothing about history and East European geography. I quickly found East Europe and local press. 

As I kept following this tragedy, I came across horrific racist cases at the crowded train stations when students and immigrants from Africa had to step back because the employees claimed that Ukranians should evacuate first. 
It was disgusting to see a low of racism. I kept trying to locate news about the students from Africa. After I learned that African immigrants were safe and sound, I realized I had twisted everything this tragedy is. Days passed, and there was TV, and journalists were sharing racist views by covering this war, and how angry I felt because nothing justifies racism and illegal attacks on civilians. Measuring the suffering of human beings as evil, there is no comparison between tragedies and injustices; all are equally evil. After the racist incidents, many Brazilian intellectuals stopped talking about Ukraine and others in the USA. 

I quickly realized I was among the few disturbed by the attack on  Ukrainians.  Because it is illegal and evil, today is Ukraine, tomorrow with being others, and who knows when it will be me and us. Have to be evacuated first. I kept following up with all of the pain in Ukraine, and I could quickly identify the Russian bots who were using the same tricks used to interfere with the US election in 2016 m with fake names and fake photos claiming a bit of rue, but all lies at the same time. After watching the American Journalist specializing in Russia, Julia Loffee, on PBS. Thanks to her insights, I finally understood how Putin used the internet to manipulate others with bots and other forms. Regarding Ukraine, we need to identify bots and propaganda; the misinformation is absolutely evil. My journey about this war changed even more after finding a unique young Russian Youtuber," Zack_the_Russia

Zack was registering his journey, and after the protest against the war in Moscow, he was caught on camera when he ran from the police, who were arresting many. Zack left Russia for Uzbekistan and, later, Tbilisi in Georgia, where it became his temporary permanent place in which he rented an apartment and surrounded himself with new friends. I started learning a lot from his journey; he chose to be alone in a different country rather than live in a country without democracy. When we watched Zacks's video from Russia, before the war, mainly from the East side, it is clear that he loved his Country and was a great storyteller who told unique stories about his own world as a young Russia. The viewers can easily engage themselves to navigate an unknown scenario that is not quite the mainstream Russia that most of us have in mind, which makes us curious and want to know more. The places Zack was showing us on Youtube in East Russia looked more deserted with regular Russians not entirely from big cities; on the other side of the globe.

 Since Zack 's moved to an apartment in Tbilisi in March 2022, Zack has been doing a lot, such as helping Ukranian refugees by providing supplies and translating news from Russia to English. He has made videos that are incredibly unique and educational at the same time. He has been collaborating with different tube creators. After watching a few of Zach's journeys, I felt I was watching history being unfounded right beyond my eyes. Zack, then only 20 years old fled to Tbilisi, Georgia, with his Youtube channel; Zack reached out to Ukrainians, raised funds, and shared what it was like growing up under Putin's rule and how his family views it. Zack comes from south East of Russia, a unique place to be different than the rest; watching him helping his babushka at her Dacha was the sweetest thing anyone could watch. There is goodness within Russians; the problem is Putin and imperialism's horrific minds, which escalate this war, a war that must end. We see the youth being hurt mentally by this war, the uncertainty, and the fear. Hurts many. It has been overwhelming to see Babuskas not wanting to leave their homes in Ukraine while the shelling is loud outside; many choose to live under this horrific fear. Stand with the people of Ukraine, all animals, and the solution to our climate crises, the indigenous of Brazil. You can find me on Zack's chat answering questions on this war. He is on youtube and Instagram as "Zack_the_Russia."

As my journey through this tragedy escalated, It was easy to understand that Ukraine needed weapons to defend itself to end the war. We live in an imperfect world. As much as I hate wars and violence, once someone tries to hit our homes, We must be able to protect ourselves. This war needs to end. Nothing justifies the horror in Ukraine. There have been thousands and thousands of senseless lost of lives and the destruction of a beautiful Country. Ukrainians are dealing with an attempt to be erased, a genocide. The "nazis" they are talking about are old ladies and children.