Going to War, and Not to Kill
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/05/30
To whom it may concern:
I propose to the Canadian humanist community: Fund a Canadian humanist journalist for a second journey to a war zone with another humanist.
Driven by individual humanist convictions, I traveled to Ukrainian territory between November 22 and December 6, 2023. I accepted an offer to join a humanist war correspondent in documenting the war triggered by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. I understand the relevant risks to life and wellbeing traveling to Ukraine with the potential to come back maimed or in a body bag.
Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, recently said, “Ukraine is currently enduring some of the worst attacks since the start of this war… No region of Ukraine has been spared by this war… wave after massive wave of attacks continue to kill and injure civilians and cause widespread damage and destruction to critical civilian infrastructure.”
At the time of the first trip, I worked seven days a week at an equestrian facility, making time off difficult. Needing surgery, I combined my recovery time with this crucial journey, traveling to six Ukrainian cities during the war. I went straight from surgery to the airport.
I fully understand the risks of traveling to Ukrainian territory again. However, I feel compelled to document this conflict. Remus Cernea feels the same, a former Romanian MP, founder of the humanist movement in Romania, and current war correspondent for Newsweek Romania. He inspired this idea.
He spoke as a keynote at the World Humanist Congress of Humanists International in 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark, alongside the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties, Oleksandra “Sasha” Romantsova.
I aim to produce an open-source, freely downloadable text through a series of interviews and articles. This live research project remains ongoing, self-funded, and independent, with no financial conflicts of interest. Any donations for this second trip would support the work itself, not influence its direction or outcomes.
I commit to documenting the war until its end. This independent journalistic endeavor holds significant moral relevance to me and aligns with the ethical concerns of most Member States of the international community. For example, UN General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1 adopted on March 2, 2022, saw 141 votes in favor, 5 against, and 35 abstentions, which broadly condemned the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
I would fly from Vancouver, Canada to London, United Kingdom, and then travel by train to several European cities en route to Ukraine to visit humanist collaborators, and then throughout Ukraine, then back to the European city with the cheapest flights back to Vancouver, Canada. Funding plan: Personal finance for individual trips to humanist colleagues in Europe, and donated funds and personal finance to flight and travel within Ukraine for the war correspondence. Previously, all personal finance funded the trip.
Your support will enable the continuation of this vital work.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen
May 14, 2024
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In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.
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