“War Is a Matter Not So Much of Arms as of Money.” – Thucydides
Whatever happened to the good, old-fashioned lemonade stand?
As we all know, wars are exorbitantly expensive. Not only in the physical and psychological sense, but they cost a lot of cold, hard cash. However, in the case of the war in Ukraine, regular citizens have found a way to chip in and give to the side of their choice.
A recent piece in The Economist reminds us that private donations have been used to fund wars for hundreds and hundreds of years. Even longer than that. The Romans had begun to build Hadrians’s wall in northern England around 122 AD. Near that wall, historians found an ancient tablet that noted gifts provided to the Roman Legions: practical things like underwear, socks, and sandals.
Fast forward to World War I, and our government reached out to civilians and asked them to knit sweaters to help keep our boys overseas warm in the trenches. In World War II, the government encouraged people to buy war bonds. According to the National World War II Museum website, you could buy a $25 war bond for $18.75. Ten years after you bought it, you could redeem it for the full amount. In the meantime, your money went to purchase ships, tanks, medicine, uniforms, food…you name it. Crowdfunding is nothing new.
On the other side of the pond, British citizens could contribute to the “Spitfire Fund,” named in honor of one of their best fighter planes. For a contribution of six old pence, a person could designate whether they wanted their money to go to a wing, engine, or machine gun. In the end, the fundraiser raked in about £ 13 million, enough to fund the construction of 1,000 high-performance aircraft.
The Economist tells the story of how, last month, Aerorozvidka (the Ukrainian drone unit) was provided with four Chinese-made DJI Phantom 3 drones by a generous German donor. Late last April, Reuters reported on how DJI Technologies, the makers of the drones, decided to stop the sale of their products to both Ukraine and Russia to prevent their use in combat. But, of course, that does not preclude private drone owners from donating them.
It’s not only the Ukrainians that we’re told about; Russia, too, has its crowdfunding sources. There are many stories out there of how Russian troops sometimes lacked even the most basic of supplies. Buda-Shirap Batuyev, a communist with ties to Vladimir Putin’s party, has commented on attending the funerals of young Russian soldiers. He noted through The Economist that due to lack of supplies, entire units were “as helpless as blind kittens.” That’s a sad visual.
Ground roots civilian support groups have sprung up in Russia, often formed by the mothers of deployed soldiers. Care packages containing the essentials: toothpaste, snacks, clean socks, etc., are being sent to the front lines. In addition to the “goodies boxes,” items like body armor and radios are also being sent.
Another Kind of Visual
Nastassia Nasko is a proud Ukrainian citizen and founder of a group called TerOnlyFans. Business Insider reported on her unique and rather ingenious story. Following the Russian invasion in late February, she posted on Twitter asking if she and a friend could get some help evacuating Kharkiv. She received no helpful responses. So, only half-jokingly and a bit out of desperation, she sent out another tweet saying she would send a nude photo of herself to anyone who would help.
Guess what happened? That’s right; she had almost a dozen offers of assistance in a matter of minutes. I’m not quite sure what that says about human nature, but we’ll leave that discussion for another time. True to her word, Nastassia took topless pics, sent them out, and before long, she and her friend were driven to safety.
After she escaped the war zone, Nastassia thought about how she could continue to help her people. So a few days later, on International Women’s Day (you can’t make this stuff up), she and her friend Anastasiya Kuchmenko founded what they called “TerOnlyFans.” OnlyFans is, I’m told, an adults-only social media site where individuals can make money selling what we’ll call “adult content.” The women added the “Ter” prefix as shorthand for “territorial defense.”
Thirty-five women and three men have signed up to get nude for the cause. In only three months, they have managed to raise an astounding $700,000 from donors all over the globe. Almost all of that money goes to Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Force. Some go to refugee groups and animal shelter organizations. None goes to content creators.
When will they stop their fundraising efforts? Nasko says, “We will end this project when Putin dies, and Russia stops their aggression.”
COMMENTS
There are on this article.
You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.