The financial markets are nothing if not a study in risk and reward, but even the City’s most seasoned traders would blanch at the margins of error facing Yemen’s so-called Spider-Man. Mohammed al-Makdad, a beloved local rescue worker known for scaling sheer cliffs to save stranded civilians, fell to his death yesterday near the volcanic rim of Jabal al-Lis. His demise has triggered a storm of questions about the cost of heroism in a conflict zone.
Al-Makdad, 34, was attempting to retrieve a child trapped on a ledge when the unstable rock gave way. Witnesses described a scene of horror as he plummeted 200 metres into the crater, his body lost to the molten rock below. For the City, this tragedy is a stark reminder that human capital often bears the heaviest losses.
The rescue protocols, cobbled together from foreign aid and local grit, are now under scrutiny. Capital flight from Yemen has been a steady drip for years, but this incident may accelerate the exodus of skilled labour. Gilt yields may not move on this, but the human cost tells us something about market efficiency in failing states: it breaks down entirely when the safety net is frayed.
Central bank policy cannot fix this. Fiscal responsibility would demand we ask how many more Spider-Men will be sacrificed before the international community writes a cheque. But the bottom line is clear: without better risk management, the only things scaling heights will be volatility and despair.
