The bleakest of the day when volcanic tremors erupted in their heart, their world turned upside down, their day turned into night, tanks rolled in their peaceful streets, long-range missiles blew up their apartment buildings, their flight to freedom blocked, the return from the grave of the cold war’s ‘iron curtain’ in Ukraine has plunged Central Europe* into the brink of a third world war, as if the global threat of climate change, the fish kills from deadly mining pollutants, the fracking of the earth that poisons waterways, the demise of many species in our planet, the tsunamis drowning islands of habitation, the pandemic that masks our sweet smiles were not enough to terrorise our souls, the deadly dust of Chernobyl’s nuclear waste floats in the air, the lust for power triggers the requiem — where were the wars to end all wars from the smoking debris of the last century, a new tyrant has arisen hell bent to destroy a next-door nation’s sosvereign rights, to retrieve what in his mind was his country’s lost empire, autocracy has no care for the collateral damage of the loss of innocent lives, what sanctions can stop a madman to a new hell on earth, voices of protest in Russia and round the globe ring out a testament to the cry for freedom and peace, and we know deep down that, with unflinching faith and concerted action, our vision that goodness will triumph over the dark recesses of the soul, and with our embrace of our brothers and sisters in their darkest hour, the rays of faith and hope in our collective hearts can never ever be dashed.

• Note: The usage of the concept of Central Europe or Middle Europe is unstable and arguable

Russia invades Ukraine, 24 February 2022

Poem: Deborah Ruiz Wall, 26 February 2022