The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been raging on for nearly a month now. With many civilians under fire, people outside of the conflict are trying to support Ukraine in any way they can. But some so-called support isn’t doing much.
Many examples can be seen on social media. Bars pouring out their “Russian” alcohol or boycotting Russian restaurants is nice in terms of support, but it doesn’t help people directly affected by the conflict. In some cases, such as PayPal suspending services in Russia, actively harming innocent Russian citizens who aren’t involved in the conflict.
Alexander Tokarewicz is a retired eye surgeon and part of a group called Eyes on Ukraine. Eyes on Ukraine is a group of ophthalmologists like myself, who are trying to arrange the procurement of medical supplies for those in the midst of the conflict.
He says that the best way to support people in Ukraine is with money.
“The easiest way to do this is actually to send funds to them because they can purchase things in, in Eastern Europe. Easier than it is to pay for the stuff to be collected here at church halls, then put on trucks, then flown out there.”
Tokarewicz also adds that this is not an excuse to toss out things that you don’t need anymore. He asks people to donate things that are needed and in good quality.
On the symbolic side, he agrees that the gesture is nice, but it’s not “real” support.
“A lot of alcohol, they’re probably known as the Made in Russia, is made in Poland or places like that. I don’t think it’s real unless they specifically poured out the Russian vodka.”
His last hope is that people continue to watch and support the Ukrainians in this conflict and not have it be something of passing interest.
“What I’m afraid of myself is that the story is going to grab the world’s attention for probably a couple of weeks because of the horrific war that’s going on. And gradually it’ll fade out and lose its news profile.”
You can donate funds directly to efforts in Ukraine at your bank branch or online.
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