I have a high tolerance for bad news. I shrug them off easily.
This is something people rarely consider when they think about life in a country at war: the absolutely devastating effect the constant flow of negative events and news can have on your mental well-being.
It never stops.
Today, you learn that your co-worker’s brother who is in the army got badly wounded, and two hours later, a friend is calling to tell you that two guys from a unit you supply with equipment just got killed.
What is left of a once affluent small town near Kyiv. (Photo by the author of this post)
There rarely is some good news. And even if there’s something to celebrate, the joy about is always quickly overshadowed by another tragic incident.
It’s been like this since the war started in February last year. Of course, this makes people sick. I think this is also one of the reasons why many foreign humanitarian aid workers dropped the towel here. it was too much for them.
I’m in a lucky position that I’ve experienced these things already in the past, in Bosnia and Kosovo. When I came to Ukraine, I carried a lot of disaster baggage with me. This helps me now. I can shut away all my feelings, if necessary.
When tragedy strikes, you sometimes need a “heartless” person to remind everyone else why they are here, and that the work can’t stop but must continue.
I sometimes meet people here, mostly former career soldiers, who have the same “quality”. Our participation in different wars has taught us to continue to function “normally”, even under the worst circumstances. It certainly isn’t something to brag about but right now, it’s extremely useful.