Two Ukrainian women provide a lesson in the moral psychology of hope

On first anniversary of the brutal

The colours of the Ukrainian flag. Photo by Tina Hartung on Unsplash

It was fitting that we sat down to dinner with two Ukrainians on the first anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of their homeland.

On February 24, we met Irina and Halina, refugees from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, which is just 30 km from the Russian border.

For many months now, both women have been living with the family that invited us to dinner. At table, both were pleasingly warm rather than overly smiley. Irina – whose English has come on in leaps and bounds, in the proud recounting of our host – told the gathering she was an accountant back home, had two young sons now in a local London school and takes classes at college. She also spoke on behalf of her mother, Halina, an engineer back in Ukraine. Halina, said Irina, has just three words of English. “I love you,” the older woman said several times to the smiling faces around the table. (Some might say her English isn’t really limited, but embraces …