Have We Not Learned Anything At All?

The War in Ukraine has dominated the news over the last few weeks. There are no winners in war; sadly, as always, it is people who will suffer.

- By Rakesh Wahi, Founder and Publisher, Forbes Africa

The colossal migration of people, the irreparable loss of life and accompanied suffering, the destruction of infrastructure and the economic disaster ahead all point to the futility of decisions made by leaders who have all lost sight of the greater good.

At the core of all irrational decisions lies man’s eternal desire to look for material benefit beyond what one needs. History has a convoluted mechanism of being documented; regardless of the outcomes, this sad human catastrophe will go down as one of life’s greatest regrets. I am a global citizen today and believe strongly that life’s solutions can never be found in death and destruction; so unless we want to go back to the stone ages and reinvent ourselves, sense lies in finding solutions through dialogue and common sense. The one attribute that leaders need to cast aside is their ego and find a way to end this human carnage. I am a dreamer by nature and have sublime dreams of life, purity and the greater good. I hope that by the time this article is published we would have the outcomes that we are all praying for and every party to this conflict rediscovers spirituality and redefines their infinite purpose; it cannot be the destruction of humanity and mankind.

Through this difficult period, I want to reflect on fond memories of my time, both in Russia and Ukraine between 1992 and 1996. I want to give historic context by quoting from page 46 of my book Be a Lion: