Why is Putin invading Ukraine?What is NATO?Is World War 3 coming? These questions loom on our search history as the potential for war and destruction expands.Suddenly, the internet community shifts from being experts on public health to foreign affairsmasterminds and we wonder what next government decision will destroy civilian lives. Wepassed high school having learnt the basic, mechanical facts of World War I and II but livingthrough something similar appears unimaginable. For a 21st century teenager, our lives have been defined by the post-9/11 era. The war onterror, launced by the nation built on terror, has formed a planet desensitized to the suffering ofthe other. The unretrievable American lives murdered by terrorism meant millions of lives in theEast must also be taken. So, we pray and donate, important actions nonetheless, withabsentmindness, knowing we did something for those poor people millions of miles away.Those poor people so different from us. No life should be worth more than another life but in comparing the outcry of Ukraine with thedestruction in the Middle East, how can we truly say that statement with our chest? The irony iseverywhere from Isralies protesting occupation on occupied land to European nationsexpressing solidarity while refugees from Africa and Asia continue to land at their feet. This is not to say we must undermine efforts to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as history hasshown, wars kill lives, time, and families. Refugees must be provided with shelter and securityso donating and raising awareness are our responsibilities. But Ukraine also gives us theopportunity to ask, does war only matter when it gets too close to home? It provides us with anopportunity to test just how strong our beliefs are. We know that whoever kills one innocent life, it is as if they have killed all of mankind. If one ofus bleeds, we all bleed. Islam is about the unification of community, of prayer, and of suffering.In recognizing and reflecting on our own emotional response to Ukraine, we notice aninconsistency in action or compassion or thought compared to other ongoing wars, we areprovided with an opportunity to challenge and improve our activism to make it morerepresentative of the issues our planet faces.