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By Lee Nan-hee
Sometimes when I feel cold during the night, it is not a good sign. I used to feel that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed on such mornings. For the last few days, I have felt like that. I have been concerned about my mother's health, as she could not eat well and was not in good shape. I had a feeling that I would have to spend much more time and energy to help my parents at the expense of my own work. Helping, serving and loving them would be my primary task for the time being.
Meanwhile, I watched some news on YouTube in which everyone seemed to buzz with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I thought that Putin, president of Russia, was a dictator, is out of his mind, full of greed and too much a macho man. When I happened to see him take off his shirt on television as if to show off his masculinity, I had such a bad feeling that he just looked like a gangster.
Witnessing a real war situation in Ukraine on the screen, I could not help but feel so troubled and sad. So many innocent refugees from Ukraine were fleeing from their motherland, due to the greedy, relentless leader and Russian oligarchs. Russian troops have been ravaging and attacking cities and villages in Ukraine for more than a year. Dead bodies of neighbors who were alive just minutes ago, but were killed by Russian bombing, are being buried in shallow graves, without even any time to mourn for them. Definitely, the hardest part of the war would be no food and supplies of necessities. Ukrainians accused Russia of using hunger as a weapon, reminiscent of Stalin's forced famine in the 1930s. It sounds horrifying and inhumane.
Russian troops reportedly went from house to house, stealing everything from food to children's toys, blocking supplies to Ukraine cities. The nightmare is not over. I could see a young woman tell a correspondent on the screen that you better cherish a clear sky, cherish every moment of your life. It really touched my mind. In times of peace like nowadays, we normally take everything we have for granted. Listening to the report on my smartphone, I looked up to the sky outside the widow and green leaves of plants in my room. I wanted to cherish all of these good things.
Two or three years ago, I had the chance to research the Korean War which started in 1950 and conservative Christians' views on anti-communism in Korea. During the process of research and writing a thesis, I could learn again that the most vulnerable victims of war were usually women. It is obvious in the case of the sex slavery system during the 1919-45 Japanese colonial rule, which falsely named them "comfort women." This war crime has nothing to do with comfort. In addition to this, during the Korean War, many women had to endure sex crimes, let alone rape and gang rape. Thank goodness, now we are living in a state of truce, though the end of the war has not yet been declared on the Korean Peninsula.
I am thankful to have not undergone those harrowing and excruciating experiences of war. I hope that the inter-Korean political situation stabilizes without any external or internal threats. I look forward to robust national security and the prosperity of our country, regardless of which side I'm on.
Lee Nan-hee studied English in college and theology at Hanshin University.
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