Statement On The War In Ukraine Written By Grainne Condron, 6th Year

It is not often that we witness atrocities to humanity as severe as we have witnessed in the past 10 days. We the Loreto Beaufort Student Body, wish to express our deep empathy with the people of Ukraine. In this time of fear and uncertainty, we hope to offer a space where meaningful dialogue can take place. We understand that this is a very human war. Living in a digital age, it is easy to be bombarded with conflicting news from all sides. Ukraine has taken its rightful place at the headlines of every news source. It is easy to get caught up in the political aspects of this war. It is in our humanity to simplify and to ask what is right and what is wrong. We know that violations of human rights are wrong. As observers, we have concluded that focusing on geopolitics is unhelpful neither to those affected, nor our own mental states. Solidarity will not come from the politics of this war. The thousands of lives lost, both in a literal and figurative sense will not be brought back by political careers.

We wish to focus on the human aspects of the war. For this reason, we will be undertaking a walk on Thursday the 10th of March to raise awareness about the plight of Ukrainian refugees. All money collected on this day will go towards the Irish Red Cross who are providing a laudable and necessary humanitarian effort both in Ukraine and on its borders. No one has any idea how long this war will go on. This will not be our last effort in action towards helping Ukraine. More events will be held in the coming months. We wish to emphasise how important it is that our conviction does not wane. The most important time to show support will be when the media starts to report on the conflict less and less. The conflict is predicted to come closer to home in the coming months with the influx of 80,000 refugees. We encourage our school community to keep this in mind as we embark on a campaign of factual information, understanding, and social awareness.

Written by Grainne Condron, 6th Year, on behalf of student awareness & fundraising committee on behalf of the Ukraine.

 

We would like to encourage our student body to be mindful of the sources of their information on the conflict. As tensions run high, emotions can often taint the truth. While these emotions are completely valid as they stand alone, we condemn any xenophobic rhetoric towards students of Ukrainian or Russian descent. We believe that we are united in the common goal of showing support. As long as we keep this in mind, our efforts will be successful in our eyes. Finally, we would like to show our admiration at the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people. We sincerely hope that this time of violence and uncertainty will end as soon as possible. We stand with Ukraine.

Below are some resources on Ukraine. These include opportunities to help and verifiable resources on the conflict.

Red Cross Donation: https://donate.redcross.ie/

Ways you can help Ukraine: https://how-to-help-ukraine-now.super.site/

Amnesty International Letters to Politicians: https://www.amnesty.ie/protect-civilians-in-ukraine/

Petition to Close the Ukrainian Airspace