Noam Chomsky once wrote that some things were almost painful to have to say, they were so obvious. One example is that we have more responsibility for things that we can affect than for things that we have little or no influence over.
In Britain, we can help relieve the suffering of Ukrainians, but we have little influence over the Russian state which is raining destruction on Ukraine.
Whatever influence we have, we should try to use. Bruce Kent gave us a fine example of that with the letter of protest that he publicly handed in to the Russian embassy on 28 February.
On the other hand, we in Britain have a lot of influence on the British state, which is helping to rain destruction on Yemen.
British firms and the British military provide Saudi Arabia with weapons, training and logistical and command support.
To mark the seventh anniversary of the Saudi intervention, Save the Children have released a new report about children in Yemen: No Place is Safe. It says: ‘Yemen has been forced into one of the worst man-made disasters, and the country has been turned into a true hell on earth.’ Half of Yemen’s schools and healthcare facilities are shut after being damaged or destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes.
Work for peace in Ukraine – and recognise our greater moral responsibility for peace in Yemen.