Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization’s definition of violence as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.” For each single death due to violence, there are dozens of hospitalizations, hundreds of emergency department visits, and thousands of doctors’ appointments. Furthermore, cruelty often has lifelong consequences for physical and mental health, social functioning, and economic and social development.
Violence in many forms can be preventable. Ukrainian parents and teachers often give several tips to stop cruelty:
- If you are the victim or a witness to violence, tell someone. It can be anyone you trust, such as a friend, a parent, a teacher, a coach, or a neighbor.
- Remember that any acts of violence are against the law.
- If you witness any form of cruelty or abuse, stand up, step in, or shout out that the offender is actually the uncool one, and the brutality has to stop.
- Don’t follow the crowd and don’t give into peer pressure. Don’t participate in any forms of violence or abuse just because your friends are.
- There is never a good reason to be violent towards anyone.
- Be a friend to an abused person by inviting them to participate in school activities.
- Comfort the person who was hurt by telling them that what happened was not fair or deserved.
- Never respond to violence with anger. It can make things worse.
Since February 24, 2022 the life of Ukrainians has changed dramatically. We have all experienced extreme violence from Russia – our neighbor country. These days thousands of people are being killed and tortured for no reason. There are a lot of other physical and emotional difficulties our people have to solve and overcome.
All Ukrainians feel lucky that a lot of countries all over the world are constantly helping us. Our people have always been friendly and hospitable. Our cossacks are world-famous warriors who defended the independence of the Ukrainian state for centuries. They were called “free people” and the “knights of the Ukrainian steppes” for their bravery, desire for freedom, and immortal courage.
Cossacks can be called “brothers in arms” with Japanese samurai, European knights, and cowboys of the Wild West for their fighting excellence, loyalty, and heroism.
History shows that Ukrainians have always fought for their freedom. As a result, our generation does not differ much from our predecessors. There are a lot of difficulties Ukrainians have to overcome, but we can not give up and are ready to defend ourselves.
I believe that any violence in this world will be punished.
Sources:
https://www.gov.nl.ca/vpi/tips-and-tools/tips-for-youth-to-stop-violence/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence
https://ukraine.ua/faq/who-were-ukrainian-cossacks/