Britain mourns victims of Grenfell fire tragedy

LONDON, United Kingdom – Green scarves, white roses: the community surrounding Grenfell Tower, the west London building ravaged by fire, united around shared symbols on Thursday, June 14, as they held poignant commemorations for the tragedy that killed 71 people a year ago.

Clutching flowers and placards bearing images of their lost loved ones, dozens of tearful survivors of Britain’s deadliest domestic fire since World War II joined still-grieving relatives on an emotional walk through the area.

The procession – accompanied by a portable speaker playing a melancholic track on repeat – ended in the shadow of the burnt-out block just before 12:54 am, the time the London Fire Brigade received the first call about a fire in the tower.

One by one, relatives announced the names of the deceased accompanied by a flurry from a bongo drum, before pinning their pictures at the “wall of truth” – a section of the fencing around the tower featuring messages and candles.

After a short trumpet blast and as light rain began to fall, the crowd assembled at the sombre site then marked an eerie silence of 72 seconds – in memory of each of the people who perished, along with a stillborn baby.

“I saw everything from the start of that night and I couldn’t sleep for 3 weeks,” recalled Farhiya Abdi, 42, a mother-of-two who was among the first to arrive at Grenfell from her nearby home as the fire spread.

“When I closed my eyes I would hear the screaming for help, see the children’s faces at the window again. I saw people jump to their death,” she said earlier in the evening, at a remembrance event on a closed-off nearby street.

Organizers unveiled banners and t-shirts emblazoned with slogans demanding justice, one of several such events taking place.

Nearly everybody wore a green scarf – the adopted color of the tragedy – while the tower was illuminated in green, as was Prime Minister Theresa May’s Downing Street office.

-‘Time hasn’t done anything’ –
May told parliament on Wednesday, June 13, that the “unimaginable tragedy remains at the forefront of our minds”.

In an interview with Grenfell Speaks, a social media news channel, she admitted that the immediate official response to the fire “wasn’t good enough… from the beginning”.

“I don’t know why it took so long,” she said.

The local community is still traumatized by the tragedy.

“I thought time would’ve healed us but time hasn’t done anything,” said Chris Imafidon, 50, who knew 6 different families bereaved by the blaze through a local education charity he works for.

“This is reviving the memories of that night, because we’re all out on the street again – I see the same faces,” he added, surveying the other locals who had turned out in remembrance.

Among the attendees were former tower residents Marcio and Andreia Gomes, whose son was stillborn hours after the fire, and local firefighters who responded that night.

On a row of tables in the street, more than 100 community members shared a meal of Mediterranean food – dubbed an iftar for Muslim residents breaking their fasts during Ramadan.

The crowd cheered wildly when a London Underground train passing on tracks above stopped and sounded its horn, before the driver emerged from his cabin to unfurl a green flag.

The commemorations will continue on Thursday with church services, special prayers at a local mosque, wreath-laying and the unveiling of a community mosaic.

A silent walk will also be held – similar to the ones that take place on the 14th of every month – while banners in memory of the victims have been unfurled over the top 4 floors of the tower.

Neglected

The fire started through a faulty fridge in the kitchen of a 4th-floor flat in the 24-story tower.

Relatives of those who died have recently provided heart-rending testimony about their loved ones’ final moments at the beginning of a public inquiry into the fire, reminding Britons of the shocking scale of the tragedy.

Stephanie Seddon, 24, a health outreach worker who has been on the ground since last June, said “lots of people are showing signs and symptoms of PTSD”, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We’re here to support the community,” she added.

Despite the support, residents argue the wealthy borough’s authorities have neglected the less affluent northern section home to Grenfell and surrounding public housing.

They also blame the fire’s spread on cladding installed during a recent refurbishment, while the fire service has come under the spotlight over its advice for residents to stay put.

A survey released Wednesday by ITV found 98% of relatives and survivors worried the policy remains, while 87% have no faith in the government.

But at the remembrance events, the overriding sentiment was solidarity.

“We’re trying to see how we can heal together,” said Imafidon. “It’s difficult.” – Rappler.com