What would Dr. Paul Farmer say about Russia/ Ukraine?

East-West tensions are escalating, as Russian nuclear forces are on high alert following Western sanctions that forced the Central Bank to raise its key rate to save the ruble. Meanwhile, gunfire continues in and around the Ukrainian capital. If Dr. Paul Farmer were alive today, what would he say about these events?

It’s impossible to know, but Paul Farmer was a tireless human rights advocate. I strongly suspect he would be calling for a ceasefire and deescalation of nuclear tensions between the US and Russia.

President Joe Biden must immediately put into place a plan to abolish nuclear weapons globally. As Dr Ira Helfand and I wrote in an op-ed on CNN.com in 2016 (with edits):

Nuclear weapons are the greatest threat to our national survival. The US cannot disarm unilaterally, but it can join and provide leadership to the international movement to prohibit these weapons. The world desperately needs a leader with vision and courage. Let’s hope that the president of the United States will be just that.

It’s time for each of us to step up and speak out. No to war. No to nuclear weapons.

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