A letter from Sasha

Sasha and two of her best friends impersonating ‘the three wise monkeys’ after graduating in Kyiv, as the graduation gave them full freedom to do what they want

Dear all,

Writing was never my strong side (just ask my promotor) and I was always complaining about the ongoing struggle of the whole scientific community, the never ending writing. Well, your perspective can change very fast…

Never have I imagined that I will be writing this letter and it is definitely the most difficult one of them all.
On February 22, as I was flying across the Atlantic and was enjoying a high-speed Internet connection, I watched Vladimir Putin order the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which was less pleasant I must say. After that, all I could do was sit and keep refreshing the news button, while seeing more and more messages about the attacks appearing. Many of us were shocked by the horror and the simple fact that a real war in Europe in the 21st century became a reality. Well-known slogan for the WW2 Victory Day celebration is:

“Never again!” Well, the “again” is today.

I do not know how the situation will develop and unfortunately it is one of those cases where a single individual cannot do much, but many can. Like many of you, I am the lucky one, the one who watches it from the outside, just like a surreal movie. Millions and millions of people in Ukraine are not so lucky. They are scarred, disoriented and, to be honest, they have no way to go. They are already at home, they love their country. In addition, many Ukrainians, like me, have family ties to Russia and care deeply about its people. Ukrainian and Russian people don’t hate each other, they have a lot of respect and appreciation for each other!
This makes the whole situation even more distorted, and that is why they are so shocked. While the average European might say this was coming, the average Ukrainian would never have expected their neighbour, their distant family to do them so much harm. Many still can’t get their heads around it.

I think what I am trying to say is that I am asking you to show your support. Please show your support to people affected by this war, show support to those who are against it! Just make sure that truthful information exchange reaches everyone, including many areas in Russia where the situation is mispresented in the news. Information is the power! By suppressing it the Soviet Union was controlling a huge country, but it is the 21st century now! It does not take much, just place a post on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or any other media source you have. It does not matter what you do, just do something! Every post you make will have an effect on another person and might, just might, help end the war with fewer casualties.

The way Ukrainians say:

“Together we are many, and cannot not be defeated” !

My heart and support to the people who suffered from the Russian aggression and those who are against it!

Sasha Ivashchenko
Imaging physics resident
Leiden University Medical Center
MCAA editorial team member

(Разом нас багато, нас не подолати!)