Ask HN: Anything an ordinary person can do to support civilians in the Ukraine?

[_jae_]

Obviously, whats happening in the Ukraine right now sucks - reading about civilians being killed just leaves me incredibly scared, angry, sad and most of all helpless. It feels hypocritical to me to continue my daily life as before while there is a war going on in Europe. But is there anything that we - 'normal' people - can/should do? Should I donate a part of my income? Any other ideas?

Sidenote: I don't want to support Ukrainian government but ordinary civilians. Judging from all I know, Russia are the 'bad guys' but all my information comes from western media so it is likely biased. Thus, I do not want to support any kind of war actions in itself, I rather want to help people that have to suffer from the consequences.

[wolverine876]

> I don't want to support Ukrainian government but ordinary civilians

The Ukranian government is by far the best source of help to the Ukranian civilians. First, it is their government - these are the people and institutions they chose; it is the people. Who are you (or me) to question their choice? Second, the government is organized, on a large scale, to serve and protect the people; nobody else can remotely do the job. Governments handle everything from their military, of course, to food, shelter, roads, weapons, ammunition, communications, etc. etc. It is the Ukranian government that is fighting the Russian invasion.

The anti-government theories can be valuable to debate in peacetime, and every government is deeply flawed and corrupt to some degree. But so is every other human institution and human being, including whoever else you would support. You need to go to war with the government and army you have. Undermining the Ukranian government would do great harm to the civilians.

That said, there are always holes and blind spots in government services, and I'm sure there are many other worthwhile groups.

I would look at the ones who are very credible and have great experience in delivering goods and services in conflict - there is a lot of fraud in war, and that applies to charities etc. I would look at Medicines Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), the International Rescue Committe (last I knew - I'd double-check they are still the same institution), or the International Red Cross.

> all my information comes from western media so it is likely biased

Everything is biased and we always need to read and think critically. The good thing about media in the free world is that there are so many different sources that you can get a wide range of perspectives. There is not one "western media" that coordinates itself; they are pretty competitive, in fact.

[_jae_]

Ad government support: My main reason for not wanting to support the government is actually that I do not want to support warfare in any kind. I consider myself a pacifist and thus don't want my money to potentially indirectly finance violence (even if its 'against the bad guys').

Ad media: Agree - everything is biased. And also agree that there is not one 'western media', nonetheless, I believe that there could be relevant information on this conflict that is not easily accessible via common media outlets. Also, I am definitely pro-Ukraine but these things are never just black and white.

[pelasaco]

depends where you are you can and how far you want to go:

- Donate money to the red cross (Ukrainian Red Cross)

- Donate to the The Voices of Children Foundation

- and/or many more more: https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/how-to-help-ukraine/

- Get a car and go the Ukraine border with Poland and bring refugees to Europe (I see a lot of people doing it right now. Staying there by some train station with a "free transportation" sign)

- You can join the Ukraine foreigner legion https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/ukraine-appeal...

[_jae_]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Ad Donations: So far that is the only viable thing I see. I guess its more a philosophical discussion but a bit unsure 'how far to go'. I am already regularly donating part of my income to charity and just recently graduated university - so donating more money to Ukraine would force me to make my current lifestyle cheaper (i.e. reducing the times I go for coffee, eat out, trying to reduce consumption overall) which, compared to what Ukrainiens are going through is obviously only a small sacrifice but on the other hand also feels a somewhat radical thing to do? Maybe I am just too much immersed in our capitalist society that lacks solidarity?

- Ad car: Unfortunately no car and quite far away.

- Ad Foreigner Legion: As mentioned in my question I explicitly don't want to support Ukraine army. I will, under no circumstances pick up a weapon to fight in a war.

[opensores]

> Sidenote: I don't want to support Ukrainian government but ordinary civilians. Judging from all I know, Russia are the 'bad guys' but all my information comes from western media so it is likely biased. Thus, I do not want to support any kind of war actions in itself, I rather want to help people that have to suffer from the consequences.

It has proven to have bias in previous wars, and up to the pandemic. Truth is the first casualty of war. I suggest looking at alternative media (hard to do in EU without VPN) and extrapolating. It's unfortunate that normal people must now waste their efforts into researching history, just as countless months were wasted (for people whose background was other than bio) in the pandemic to research biology.

As to your question, there's no doubt organizations such as Red cross and EU (and even the Americas) will have another flood of refugees.

[wolverine876]

> It has proven to have bias in previous wars, and up to the pandemic. Truth is the first casualty of war.

Proven? As long as we are concerned with truth, why should we trust these claims?

> I suggest looking at alternative media (hard to do in EU without VPN)

It's hard to look at alternative media in the EU? What are you talking about?

[thagerty]

https://how-to-help-ukraine-now.super.site/?fbclid=IwAR2rTww...

[_jae_]

Thanks for sharing!

[LinuxBender]

There are groups that can extract refugees from war torn countries. The one I am familiar with and had some indirect association with in the past is IRC [1]. They will send people into extremely dangerous locations and extract people.

[1] - https://www.rescue.org/

[rolph]

depending in your situation, and on the situation it may be possible to ship into ukraine.

https://www.shipping-to.com/ukraine.htm

you need to find out what everyday items may be needed, such as bandages, soap, needles and thread, instant oatmeal, ramen noodles, tarps etc.

things that any human would need regardless of sides, and cant be foreseeably used for war

[gigatexal]

Supporting the Ukrainian government is supporting the citizens. I don't get why one would not want to. Maybe government overhead leading to your donated dollar coming out to less than you donated? Seems like a weak argument.

In such a conflict, there are few like this that are so obviously cut-and-dry: Putin, and the Russian Military, are wrong here. Ukraine is clearly the victim.

[_jae_]

My main reason for not wanting to support the government is actually that I do not want to support warfare in any kind. I consider myself a pacifist and thus don't want my money to potentially indirectly finance violence (even if its 'against the bad guys').

[gigatexal]

Ahh makes sense.

[readonthegoapp]

i'm not doing much/anything.

but the feeling of helplessness comes from not being organized -- with other people, trying to do _something_, anything, that supports a quick end to the fighting.

the best (and only?) option i've seen thus far is make Ukraine a militarily-neutral country -- i.e. _not_ a member of NATO.

that means Ukraine has to buy in (Zelenskyy seems determined to destroy his country), the US (obv), NATO (to the extent they matter), Europe (can we even talk about Europe as an entity anymore?) -- all have to buy in.

i'm american so i should be pushing Biden to accept Ukrainian neutrality (and, by extension, some some small limits to global American dominance and rule). UK people should ping Boris and the Tories - they don't want to give up that Russian money anyways. Germans should pressure their new person to help stop the next/final world war.

right now it's a game of chicken, and most people are losing, but not our rulers.

whether this escalates to nuclear world war and an end of organized human life on earth is still up in the air.

i think each person can and should send care packages, contribute to the red cross (as other commenters have said), etc., but you can really make an impact - imo - by pushing for an expedient political solution, and organizing with others to do so -- probably by pushing for a neutral Ukraine.

[phs318u]

I’m not sure I understand your point. Ukraine is already “not a member of NATO”. Russia is bordered by NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. They have notably not been invaded. Putin is not foolish to directly attack a NATO member state. Logic would dictate that perhaps it would have been better for Ukraine to be a NATO member. Clearly, Putin’s attack was preemptive - to prevent Ukrainian membership. Now he’s sabre rattling to Sweden and Finland over their considerations to join NATO. Are you suggesting that sovereign states should not be free to join an alliance if they wish to?