A word from our CEO: Support for Ukrainians

In a rousing speech to the British House of Commons in 1948, Sir Winston Churchill said the words, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”  For those of us that do study our history, it is sad to see what is happening in Ukraine today.  There is much debate about whether the current conflict was inevitable – Russia has, in one way or another, been in control of some or all of Ukraine since around 1686 with only brief periods of independence in Ukraine, most notably, of course the period since 1991 when Ukraine officially broke away from the Soviet Union.

Europe, of course, is no stranger to tyrannous demagogues.  There have been Putin’s in the past and, sadly, there will be again in the future.  Men that put their own desire for power ahead of the needs of their people and if that lust for power means that they need to bomb a maternity hospital or force the evacuation of some three million Ukrainians from their homes, well, in their minds, so be it.  Collateral damage.

Here at Make Space, while we are usually apolitical – preferring instead to focus on what we are great at; providing amazing storage solutions to our customers - we have been touched by this conflict in a couple of ways.  One of our senior leaders is Ukrainian and has had to scramble to get her parents to safety in Poland…if anyone still believes the Russian propaganda that states that they are only bombing military targets, they should ask her parents about the devastation they witnessed in Kiev.  We also conduct business in Ukraine.  We have suppliers in Ukraine that are trying to provide service while experiencing blackouts and bombings.

No one should have to live like this in 2022.  Surely humans have progressed beyond such barbarism in this day and age?  Surely, a couple of feet of soil is worth less than the spilt blood it took to take it?

Canada and Canadians – along with the rest of the world – should, no, they MUST stand up to tyranny.  We sat by when Putin took Crimea, just like we stood by when Hitler ‘annexed’ Austria and then invaded Sudetenland.  The leaders of Europe ceded the Sudetenland to Hitler (although they had no right to) in exchange for Hitler’s promise of peace.  What actually happened was Hitler was emboldened by Europe’s weakness and fear.

We must show strength and solidarity.  Putin, like Hitler, will not be satisfied with parts or all of Ukraine.  If he wins, Estonia will probably be next and then the rest of the former USSR.  Where is our line in the sand?

There are many ways you can help.  At the top of our storage website www.makespacestorage.ca we have a link that shows our support of Ukraine.  Clicking on that link will give you a multitude of options to show your support – financially or otherwise.  Please take the time to look at this and show the world that you are not going to stand idly by while history repeats itself again.

Terry Thomas, MBA, CPA, P.Log

Chief Executive Officer

Make Space Inc.

(image by Seth Globepainter in Paris, France)