I was born 40 years after the war and did not find peace here. The echoes of the past still reverberate in our present.
The first sentence of this text paraphrases lyrics of one of the punk Polish bands, “Dezerter,” entitled “Urodziłem się 20 lat po wojnie” (“I was born 40 years after the war.”). I recalled the lyrics that I was born 40 years after the war (I think I do not have to remember that WWII ended in 1945. Undoubtedly, I should remind you, my Dear Friend, that I was born on the 29th of March 1985) while driving from Warsaw to Brok on the 30th of March, 2024 (I wrote this text one day later). What caused me to think about war? These were the new yellow road signs that were placed on the Expressway S8 (officially named: “The Rout of the Heroes of the Battle of Warsaw 1920.” Most of these road signs presented a tank.
I do not have to mention I’ve been writing this text for more than two years after the full-scale war in Ukraine erupted.
It was Russia that attacked Ukrainians. Was it the first attack of the Russian/Soviet troops after WWII ended? No. For example, in the 1980’s, the Soviet Union attacked Afghanistan. Americans also invaded one of the poorest countries in the XXI century. In the same century, the US also attacked Iraq. It was not the first time they did, because the American troops invaded Iraq also in the 1990’s. Also, at the beginning of the 1990s in Europe, a bloody conflict raged in the former Yugoslavia that also led to wars and ended in bombarding Serbian cities by NATO.
Did NATO was the only side that was bombarding others after WWII ended?
No. Russians were also bombarding the Chechen city of Grozny. I could write about many other conflicts that erupted after WWII. Why did I do it? Because I should not be surprised that war is also near Poland. I hope it won’t reach my beloved homeland’s borders. Still, the truth is that wars are an inevitable part of human civilization’s existence, and it is impossible to eliminate wars. History and current events prove it.
