(WXMI) — When it comes to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Bob Wood knows how he feels.
“All wars are gray, except for this one,” said Wood. “Russia invaded the sovereignty of Ukraine. They target civilians and they continue to do it and they're stepping it up. It's unjust and it does affect the United States.”
The retired Oakridge Public Schools social studies teacher, who grew up in Kalamazoo, never imagined he would care so much for a place halfway around the world, but Wood explains that changed last February when he began to teach English at Ukraine Catholic University in Lviv.
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“We have a lot of students whose families are in harm's way,” said Wood. “We have a lot of students who have relatives who are in the war, … so they carry this burden with them all of the time.”
Nearly a year later and with two semesters under his belt, Wood says the experience continues to change his life. He describes a visit to the Field of Mars, a military cemetery, with a student this past December as particularly impactful.
“I'll never forget,” said Wood. “We got off the bus and then it just lays out there in front of you. They have pictures of the soldiers on these markers and they have a big box — a big wooden box — that runs about the length of a coffin, and it's filled with dirt and there's flowers planted in all of them, so there's beauty.”
Wood says it’s difficult to return to the United States because it’s as if people forgot about Ukraine’s plight.
“We’ve lost interest and we have a dysfunctional government that can't pass ... they can't pass a bill to change the zip code, let alone $60 billion [in aid] to Ukraine,” said Wood.
Wood hopes that soon changes. He encourages people to either donate needed supplies or money or reach out to their elected officials, saying even the simplest gestures can show Ukrainians how Americans really feel.
“The stakes are high and the brutality is just as bad,” said Wood. “Ukraine needs our assistance now more than it ever has, and so as a U.S. citizen, as an American citizen, as a human being, don't close your eyes to this.”
