Ukraine crisis: Children must not pay for Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruthless ambition

It was filled with rousing songs sung in the language of other lands which came from the heart. The dancing was spectacular. Women whirled and twirled in embroidered costumes while the men kicked and spun wearing flowing sleeves, sashes and fur hats. And as I looked around the packed auditorium I saw grown men and women cry. I could see what it meant to them.

A reminder of home. Well some of their sons and daughters will have cried this week too. As will those who fear their country could be next.

It was known simply as the Captive Nations concert and it was a celebration of those who had come to our city after the war from countries which had been swept away under the banner of the USSR. In coming here and leaving those they loved behind, so they made many cities great. They came to Bradford to work in the textiles mills. Or in other towns and cities down the mines. And they became an integral part of my childhood. Captive nations war veterans in their smart uniforms manned the doors and lifts in Bradford’s finest department stores, Busby’s in particular.

Grateful of the refuge this country offered them, they became part of the fabric of our society having fought side by side with this country and in doing so found themselves outcast from their countries of birth. They enriched my childhood and our communities. They built clubs, even schools, many of which survive today where they could keep their culture and history alive.

Their pride knew no bounds. That is why they cried at those concerts because for so many all they wanted to do was to go home. Some eventually did but most made Britain their home. And many dare not leave it for years for fear of arrest and persecution.

In Bradford Cathedral a plaque was unveiled in honour of those forced to flee. It remains there to this day. And this week as the horrific news of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine emerged I thought about it, and of those concerts which were so full of joy but tinged with sadness as they celebrated all they had sacrificed for the right to be free.

In the early hours of Thursday morning when I couldn’t sleep I turned on the news to hear the Secretary General of the United Nations beg President Putin to withdraw his troops “in the name of humanity.” I was still watching as he admitted it was too late. The invasion had happened. At seven o’clock that same morning I quickly turned off the television when my two little granddaughters came into the room. Their other grandma, their Omi, is of direct Ukrainian descent, her father being one of those who came here to Yorkshire after the war but never forget the homeland. Those two little girls have joined in celebrations for Ukrainian Christmas and New Year.

Their daddy had Ukrainian dancers at the wedding when he married their mummy, my daughter. They have been to events at the Ukrainian club. So they know the word Ukraine and what it means to one side of the family. So I turned off the TV because I do not want them to also know the word war. Nor do I want them to hear of the potential threat to peace in Europe.

In the past two years our young people have suffered so much with a pandemic which has left them isolated and confused. Now they are being told by former army general and ex Deputy Supreme commander of Nato Sir Richard Shirreff that as children and grandchildren they may one day be called to fight if Russia puts “one boot step into Nato territory”. Troops, he said might have to be sent to secure the borders with other former Soviet states. And there is a possibility, he agreed that we as a nation could find ourselves at war with Russia just a little over three decades since the former Soviet Union was forced to give up its power. And to think we thought was the end of it. Were we not lucky to have lived so much of our lives in relative peace?

On the same day Boris Johnson pledged the tough economic sanctions that must now follow, young people just emerging from the pandemic and hoping to go to university were told they will have to pay back university loans sooner than at present. They live in a world panic-stricken over climate change, with families struggling to cope with rising food costs and energy supplies and now war. If after all that they still have ambition, are still determined to go to university we must support them every step of the way not put stumbling blocks before them.

Their future is more uncertain than ever. And if they have the guts to carve out a better place in the world then hats off to them.

Bravely, 150 unnamed Russian officials have told Vladimir Putin he is wrong. That they also will not support him. We must ensure that we stand with them as they demand an end to this war as it begins. We must cut off their wealth and so cut off their power for the sake of our friends and neighbours who came three generations ago but whose families still hurt at what is happening too close for comfort for all of us.

Our children and our grandchildren must not be left to suffer the consequences of one man’s ruthless ambition to ride roughshod over those who once again are forced to fight to be free.

Never have I been so worried for their future. Never again have I thought so long and hard about those who danced and sang and wept at those left behind.