Editorial by the FSS MU dean
Dear colleagues,
just a few years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed that I and my children would comprehend the old prayer of our ancestors: “God free us of hunger, plague and war”. The worst fears and scenarios, which seemed laughable only a short time ago, have been realised. What we have done so far as the FSS MU in support of war-torn Ukraine:
- on the symbolic level: we have hung the Ukrainian flag on the faculty building; our students have made and given out ribbons in the Ukrainian colours, and in just the first two days have collected almost 40,000 crowns in voluntary donations for a People in Need collection; we have terminated our partnership agreement with Yekaterinburg University until the end of the criminal Putin regime.
- offer of aid: on the first day of the war we offered assistance to all our students with Ukrainian citizenship, of whom there are 14 at the FSS; each of them will receive an extraordinary grant of 20,000 crowns for unexpected expenses incurred in dealing with the consequences of the war in their lives (finances will be transferred from the faculty bonuses fund of the management of the faculty and heads of department and institutes);
- offer of humanitarian aid: we have decided to set aside the association room for the collection of materials; we are coordinating all the attempts to offer concrete assistance with the university initiative MUNI HELPS - the vice dean Veronika Zapletalová is the faculty contact person for these purposes;
- social-science reflection and civilised debates: on Wednesday 2 March 2022 a series of public debates (in the Czech language) will begin with faculty experts from various departments on themes associated with Putin’s aggression and the situation in eastern Europe. In the future we will try to organize similar events in English.
With regard to teaching, we call upon the entire teaching staff to show consideration, not only for Ukrainian students but for all students who may be completely perturbed by a situation not often experienced by them nor, very often, the generation of their parents. Some are helping to their full extent, whilst other are “just” trying to comprehend the situation and come to terms with it. Over the coming weeks, let us be more accommodating to any requests for delays in deadlines for various tasks etc.
Hoping that Ukraine manages to defend itself from the aggressor and that V. V. Putin does not make good on his threats to the entire world,
Stanislav Balík
dean
