Ukraine on My Mind: Reflections Two Years Later

A couple weeks ago I had the honor of sharing some thoughts at the Freedom for Ukraine Banquet. As one of their guest speakers, I wanted to say something profound. But my mind kept coming to the same moments I still think about every day. So, when my friend asked me what I spoke about, I shared the same stories she’s already heard:

It has been over 2 years since I had been at the border, but it continues to consume my thoughts.

Ukraine deserves the right to defend itself

I had flown into Poland. And before heading to Ukraine’s border, I was to use my language skills to help at Krakow station. The station energy was reminiscent of my past trips to NYC with the busy-ness of it all.

It took me 2 milliseconds of being at the station to realize the swarms of people wasn’t normal traffic but rather a mass exodus of Ukrainians fleeing the devastation of war.

It made sense. Would you stay if you knew there was a murderer on the loose in your neighborhood?

My initial moments at the station crystalized for me how important it is to stop the aggressor. We must empower Ukraine to defend itself and its people. Otherwise, there is no end. 2 years later, you see this holds true. The UN calculates that there are over 6 million displaced. The aggressor continues to terrorize Ukrainian citizens, devastating people, families, and infrastructure.