The recent earthquake in Venezuela has claimed a tragic yet heroic story: a mother shielding her child with her own body, perishing in the rubble. This vignette, heart-wrenching and sublime, underscores a broader failing in the global order. The United Kingdom, once a beacon of civilised resilience and global stewardship, now seems content to watch from the sidelines as chaos unfolds.
We have the expertise, the naval assets, the logistical genius that once built empires. Yet we balk at deploying them for humanitarian ends. The Victorians would be appalled.
Our present reluctance is not prudence but decadence. The mother’s sacrifice is a mirror: it reflects our own failure to act. We must reclaim our role as a leader in disaster relief, not as a colonial relic, but as a moral imperative.
This is not charity; it is the duty of a great nation. Without this leadership, we are mere spectators to history’s tragedies.
