Suez unplugged is great news for world's morale

If ever there was an event which gave the world a much-needed boost and hope for the future it was the unblocking of the Suez Canal. The mighty container ship, Ever Given, forced the world to hold its breath for six days. And then, like a blocked drain that suddenly becomes unplugged, the Canal was free and flowing as normal. The pandemic is still with us and still causing personal and economic mayhem around the world but after more than a year of being totally under virus siege, things are beginning to move again, there is an economic flow which we haven't seen for 12 months. The symbolism is too stark not to draw a comparison with the blocked Suez. For older generation people the Suez Canal has always been associated with that disastrous year of 1956 when Britain, without the help of the United States, decided to go ahead with a military adventure to seize the Canal after the nationalisation takeover by President Nasser of Egypt. Israeli armed forces had invaded Egypt and were soon supported militarily by France and then Britain, with the US kept in the dark. It was a fiasco. Nasser won the day and Israel, France and Britain had to withdraw their forces. But today, thanks to the Ever Given, Suez will be associated with the six-day blockage and the growing sense of helplessness as tug boats and diggers failed to move the container ship straddled across the Canal. The Suez Canal has a unique place in history for many reasons. But as the second year of the coronavirus pandemic gets underway, let us hope that as the Canal flows freely once more, the pandemic will also stop blocking us from leading a normal life.