This week, I’ve been thinking back to a conversation I had during our MCC orientation in 2019. This occurred during a session on colonialism. The facilitator split the participants into two groups based on their skintone – people of color were to discuss the legacy of being colonized and white people were to discuss the legacy of being colonizers. We then split into groups of two to discuss a series of questions.

Of course this felt totally wrong. As it should. Dividing people based on skin color is wrong. The discomfort of the exercise is important and cultivates an awareness that we need to hold. Our ancestors may not have directly engaged in violence against indigenous people but most of us have benefitted from their systemic oppression. Mennonites, fleeing persecution in Europe, did not intend to take another people’s land but in many cases that is exactly what happened. I remember an English professor at Bluffton University illustrating the distinction between the words ‘good’ and ‘well’ with the phrase, “Mennonites came to North America to do good and ended up doing well.” It is also important for those planning to serve abroad because, often, the world sees us through the lens of colonialism. During my first term, when I traveled regularly through the countryside, I was always referred to as បារាំង by the locals. បារាំង means French in Khmer. Like it or not, my presence was interpreted in the context of the French colonizers.

I partnered with one of the national staff from the MCC Ukraine office. As we considered the questions we had been given, he quietly shared that he could not identify with the legacy of being colonizers. Others, from North America, had protested this more loudly but his disclaimer was solemn and reflective. I listened as he explained that the Ukraine had always been on the receiving end of colonization. In history, Ukraine had been invaded by Poland, Austria, Nazi Germany, and Russia. These regimes outlawed the Ukrainian language and cultural traditions, forcing the local inhabitants to become second class citizens in their own land and adopt the practices of their conquerors. Ukrainians are a Slavic people, the word slave in English comes from the Slav ethnic group who were enslaved in great numbers in medieval times. He said that being colonized and resisting colonialization is deeply engrained in Ukrainian ethnic identity.

I’ve been reflecting on his words over the last two years but, for obvious reasons, they are sitting heavily with me this week. One of the legacies of colonialism is to propagate simple, convenient narratives around ethnic identity and culture. The more deeply one comes to understand another culture the more one realizes how little they actually know. It’s a process that challenges our own sense of identity and deepens our humility and empathy.

102 years ago, Mennonite Central Committee was founded to respond to a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. That crisis was also caused by war. To find out more about what MCC is doing to respond to the current crisis, please visit https://mcc.org/stories/crisis-ukraine

Please pray for peace in Ukraine and for safety for the people facing conflict there.