Scrolling Past a War

Jack Tull
Mar 8
2 min read

In 2022, it felt like everyone was watching the war in Ukraine. News alerts popped up constantly, and people talked about the invasion by Russia like it was the most important thing happening in the world. For a while, it seemed impossible to ignore. But four years later, the war is still going on and it seems like that’s exactly what people did, ignore.

As the war went on, less important events began to headline in the news, and many people who weren’t directly experiencing the tragedy of the war simply moved on. That privilege to move on was not given to the people living through this war. 4 years is a very long time, enough for a child in elementary school to grow into a middle schooler. It’s enough time for daily routines to include danger and uncertainty. It’s enough time for once beloved, lived homes to turn to rubble. Those living through this war can’t simply scroll right past the news headlines online.

Distractions and distance are what draw our attention away from the war. Each ignored update and headline adds to a great silence that shrouds the war for people not living through it. But this silence won’t lead to peace, this silence is erasing the cries and stories of those who deserve to have their voices heard.

Four years after Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, the war continues. A war is being fought while the world looks away, news directed elsewhere. As attention fades and gives way to silence, we forget. It’s easy to forget when we’re so far from the conflict and other stories and headlines take over the news, but remembering is one small way to show that we refuse to keep this war invisible.

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