February 28, 2026
Dear EDST Members and Friends:
West Asia (so called “Middle East”) is taken in the midst of flames, yet again. Amidst wider global contexts of geopolitical, military, and economic hegemonies, and struggles for domination, the search for peace, and the path to justice, continue to be elusive, cadenced by waves of violence, suffering, destruction, and casualties.
As a community composed of people hailing from diverse nations and societies, in these painful moments we are called upon to uphold our care for each other, all particularly towards those directly touched, affected, and captured by the unfolding violence and its effects.
Let us be clear: Geographic boundaries and distances do not delimit, nor do they contain wars to any specific site or land. North America is “there”, in as much as West Asia and the world are “here”. The “there” and “here” have largely become fictional temporal-spatial constructions of no utility for understanding our civic and human responsibilities. The “here” and “there”, the “us” versus “them”, the “I don’t knows”, are all irremediably entangled and implicated in what is going on, in so many and different ways. We are all borrowing the Earth, as the only boat available to all of us, in order to continue floating in the infinite ether of the cosmos. To make Earth sustainable means therefore caring for the politics that bring us together in as much as caring for natural resources and the ecology.
Let us each recall what we are after in EDST; let’s maintain and consolidate our trust in the capacities of resilience, pursuit of justice, and care that we so often claim we teach, preach, research, and profess. The violence and destruction unfolding in West Asia (and elsewhere, too) represent contexts that place our very teachings – and engagements with EDI, Indigeneity, and justice – to the most practical, existential, and reliable tests regarding their worth. Silence and abdication are therefore not an option. Neither is avoidance or surrender to inherited “truths” or catch-phrases. Rather, care and reaching out to all those affected are the way, if we are committed to what we claim we teach and learn in EDST. In the midst of war, destruction and loss of life, suffering and pain have no ranking; sorrow is not a competitive sport; there is no final hierarchy of pain, nor any medals to display on our chests. There is only our capacity to strive, engage, and commit to offering “learning opportunities that are transformative and that support their life goals” (cited from EDST Mission & Values).
At this point in time, we can start by reaching out to all members of the EDST community, and beyond, particularly those directly affected by the unfolding violence – as we all are. From wherever you are, do reach out to students, peers, friends, neighbours and alumni. Keep in touch with UBC student services, your professors and the administrative staff. Do not hesitate to inquire about available resources and support.
Education is among the very first institutions to bear the direct burnt of violence, destruction, and wars, as are hospitals. This has been the case – endemically – of all military operations, including in the current context in West Asia: news reports already indicate that educational facilities and school aged children are significantly represented among destroyed facilities and casualties of military operations. What do we make of these realities in our courses, classrooms, research papers, teaching and student activities? How do we mobilize our exposure to accumulated knowledge to discern how we can best bring EDST’s work and ethos to bear on the ways in which we would like to be in and for the world, despite its chaotic and violent attributes, perhaps because of them?
From within that lens, seize the spaces available to you in order to engage the unfolding realities with courage and determination. Be guided by a spirit of community solidarity, care, justice and compassion, and by EDST’s mission and values. Through the spaces you can each and all create and build on, let there be light that emerges; a light that would help us grow in wisdom, commitment, and care for justice, equity and the building of a worth-wanting world and a vibrant home.
Thank you.
André Mazawi