The people of Ukraine have suffered through more than six grueling, agonizing weeks of the war, during which dozens of towns and villages were bombed, thousands of civilians were murdered, and millions of Ukrainians were forced to flee their homes and their country.
These days, one looks stunned at the pictures from Bucha and other Ukrainian cities and questions how is it that humans are capable of such atrocities?
The effects of the attack, initiated by a merciless government, have caused untold suffering and irreparable damage, not only in Ukraine but in all nations around the world. Unfortunately, this is not the first time. The 11 years of war in Syria and the world powers appeasing the main perpetrators and supporters of this war had the same effects.
Now, the small Ukrainian city of Bucha is revealing the bitter face of this war to the world. The most recent images from Bucha, where the innocent, unarmed men, women, and children, were massacred, once again demonstrated the full brutality of the war and the barbarity of an army invading Ukraine. People all over the world are desperately asking themselves, when and how will the bloodshed end?
This is a question that should have been asked when the world powers decided to stay silent and just observe from a secure distance the brutal events and wars in the Middle East. Without any doubt, at that time, many social and political experts warned the observing politicians that silence vis-a-vis dictators will only give them free reins and their flashpoint will change their direction to themselves, but no one listened.
Bucha has now become a new manifestation of the brutal effects of war and invasion. Innocent people, ruthlessly killed en-masse while handcuffed from behind and shot in the head, are lying on the demolished streets of this small city.
Their partially buried lifeless bodies are a grueling reminder of the disgusting phrase ‘Mass graves’, and once again this phrase has found its way to the political and media circles around the world. The photos speak for themselves. Visible body parts of the massacred indicate that the bodies were hastily buried without any respect.
These scenes are ‘indigestible’ for the world in the 21st century and highlight cases of crimes against humanity and genocide. The condemnation of this tragedy knows no borders, no cultural and racial diversity, despite those who try to justify or deny it.
In the ‘International Conference—Ramadan: United against Fundamentalism and Warmongering, for Peace and Tolerance’ held by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Kira Rudik, member of the Ukrainian parliament and the leader of the Golos Party said, “What is happening to Ukraine cannot be forgotten. I’m talking to all world leaders and organizations. You need to act now. Forty days was enough. You should know where the red lines are. There are small towns like Bucha, where children are being killed, and women are being raped. This must be stopped. We want to end this war and the horrifying things we are seeing.”
Her shivering tone and tear-streaked look made any further explanation unnecessary and showed the depth of the tragedy.
In reference to the members of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), attending this conference, who have suffered from many massacres like in Bucha over the 43 years, she said, “I heard about what happened to you in (Camp) Ashraf (Iraq), and I want to tell you that now I know what you went through.”
Her remarks recall the famous quote of Ashraf Rajavi, one of the leading women against the mullahs’ regime who ultimately sacrificed her life for a free Iran, in which she said in 1981, “The world did not know what happened to our nation in these few months.”
Few would have imagined that the day would come again in which the fiery messages of ‘executions’ and ‘mass graves’ would shake the world. Many imagined that the darkness of the dictatorships would bury the message of innocent blood shed, but that time has changed, and they must and will face justice for their crimes.
