We, the older people in Europe, still remember the atrocities of the Second World War. Our parents and grandparents experienced the horrors of past wars and conflicts, and many lost their lives. Our generation has made efforts, individually and collectively, to end wars. We have invested our energies in reconciliation and in transforming the European continent into a sphere of peace, freedom, prosperity and growth. European integration, that we have always been active supports, was conceived as a process towards an enduring, sustainable and democratic peace. The latest events violently collide with this vision.
The invasion of Ukraine is affecting the whole population, yet older people are particularly exposed, often unable to flee from conflict and left alone without family or their wider community, and cut off from support, including access to medicine and food. They are also particularly vulnerable to abuse, as reveals a recent report from Human Rights Watch.
In these tragic times in Ukraine, our greatest source of strength, as Europeans and as human beings, is solidarity. We, the older people of the AGE Europe Platform, express our deepest solidarity with all Ukrainians. It is fundamental to our commitment to the principles of human rights, democracy, rule of law and peace.
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