I have a specific idea about how to make the world more peaceful

A few days ago I was exchanging emails with a client I’m consulting. I was sharing the acute pain about Russia’s terrible war on Ukraine. I’m Russian with a lot of Ukrainian roots. I got this reply (redacted slightly)

It is hugely tragic for both the Russian (people) and the Ukrainians

I worked in Russia for a year at … (a closed town called …), and as the only foreigner in a town of 22,000 people found them hugely welcoming, proud of their traditions and heritage — and notably, with a generational memory of the atrocities and losses they suffered at the hands of the Nazis, and the seige of St Petersburg/Leningrad which killed almost 1 million civilians.

I also spent time in Kiev and at Chernobyl, and had a similar appreciation of Ukrainian culture and traditions.

Let me get straight to the point.

If every person in the world spent a year in a foreign country, the chances of international confrontations would be less. Because when you get to know people from other cultures, you are truly empathetic. You don’t make generalizations, you don’t fall for propaganda. You are less likely to think Oh this country is out to get you. Actually, when there is a confrontation, this country may indeed want to “get you”, but you always know that this country consists of real people, some of who you’ve met and felt loved by. You understand that every human being is, well, a human being, quite similar to you; he or…