This Sunday the 14th of June marks three years since the tragic fire that
happened at Grenfell.
Every month on the 14th people in this community come and
do a silent walk in order to remember those whose lives were lost but soon as
the coronavirus pandemic it has meant that people had to lookdown,
those walks have not been able to take place.
I thought it would be important today to come and speak some people who were affected directly
by what happened to ask them how things have changed three years on.
As we come up to the third anniversary, you know, it coinciding with Covid-19,
as a group of people in Grenfell, we experience this like acute trauma and loss
and seeing that playing out on a wider scale over the country is really, really difficult.
At the time of the fire, I had two children, they were nine and seven at that time.
They've been very resilient.
Of course, initially, they were in a lot of shock but they're very open, they talk a lot
but, you know, they do have their times where they struggle, especially at night time,
nighttime, even up until yesterday, you know, is an issue.
They have their own rooms but they end up sleeping in the same bed most nights.
Do you find it difficult to come down here?
I think at first I did, but now that it's kind of
wrapped I find it quite peaceful.
What are the main things for you as somebody who's been affected by all of this
and is involved in this movement, what do you want to see happen?
The materials of all the buildings free as they are, those materials should not still be on buildings,
we know they're non-compliant, we know they're dangerous, we know they're deadly ...
Why are they still on buildings?
You know, I would have fought within, the first month the first six months
that they would have eradicated all of that but three years later,
we're still fighting for, you know, cladding to be removed.
Grenfell, it's not if it's when it's going to happen.
The failings from Grenfell by the government have kind of re-enacted
themselves in Covid-19, I mean the indifference comes through the way
we were treated as a community in Grenfell by the local authority and the government.
And covered in the wider country by their failure to lockdown early.
Victim blaming in that we were told that it
was our fault that we didn't have sprinklers by Rees-Mogg that it was our
fault we didn't use our common sense to get out of the building and you see that
echoed when the Health Minister turns round and accused as the front line NHS
staff of using up PPE, too much PPE.
Obviously they've got the pandemic happening, that's one situation,
but on top of that there's also, you know, the movement around the black lives matter
and you see people at the protest wearing Grenfell t-shirts ...
Do you see that these two things are aligned?
Absolutely, absolutely.
When you look at the make up of Grenfell tower,
the majority of the people in Grenfell were ethnic minorities
and as I said three years has gone past not much has changed.
I feel like if there were white people that were living in the tower,
if it was in a different part of the borough as well, I think that we would
have got a lot more fervor, you know, in regards to justice and just change.
I think, you know, Grenfell fits at the heart of black lives matter in a way.
Serious questions need to be asked and serious pressure needs to be put on
the government as to why they haven't acted faster.
I think Windrush, Grenfell, you know, Covid, all these things tie into
a kind of a narrative that is about injustice and inequality.
Every month on the 14, there is the silent walk,
I've been to a few of them and there's nothing like it, it's not like any other protest,
it's not like any other movement I've ever seen ...
For you, like, how important is being able to go out and go on that walk every month?
Definitely, it's really important because it's a way for us to remember,
it's a way for us to show them we're still here.
Like, OK, we might not be protesting at this point, we might not be making noise
but we're still here so for us it's being visible.
So for me the fact that we haven't been able to be visible since March,
we haven't had a silent walk since February,
it's quite upsetting but, you know, we're in a pandemic so what can you do?
Just for us to gather together and to be together is always an important occasion,
you know, and those are the only people that went through what I went through
and it's important to mark the occasion.
I'm happy that we're all going to still be able to be together
but there's nothing like being together physically, you know?
Grenfell United and Grenfell Silent Walk have organised digital events on Sunday
to commemorate the third year anniversary.
Amongst other things, this includes a remembrance event at 6pm which will be available on
the Grenfell United YouTube page.