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| As funerals are held for those who died at Grenfell, the living continue to fight for their rights | As funerals are held for those who died at Grenfell, the living continue to fight for their rights |
| (11 days later) | |
| “Absence is the guide,” wrote the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. “Absence teaches me its lessons.” There is an absence at the heart of the story of Grenfell Tower that is impossible to ignore. It is in the lives and voices of those who died in the fire. It is in an uninhabitable tower that sits at the heart of a community, and it is in the sudden removal of displaced survivors from their community. | “Absence is the guide,” wrote the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. “Absence teaches me its lessons.” There is an absence at the heart of the story of Grenfell Tower that is impossible to ignore. It is in the lives and voices of those who died in the fire. It is in an uninhabitable tower that sits at the heart of a community, and it is in the sudden removal of displaced survivors from their community. |
| If there is a lesson from this absence, it is about the importance of proper scrutiny and public engagement. It is about holding to account those who make decisions about how and where to spend public money. And it is about recognising the humanity and rights of every individual involved in this avoidable tragedy. | If there is a lesson from this absence, it is about the importance of proper scrutiny and public engagement. It is about holding to account those who make decisions about how and where to spend public money. And it is about recognising the humanity and rights of every individual involved in this avoidable tragedy. |
| The past two weeks have been harrowing for families, survivors and anyone involved with the local community. Notifications of funerals circulate almost daily. By the end of this week, 22 women, men, and children will have been buried since the last full council meeting. Many burials included whole families or households, and each day rings out its loss on Facebook or WhatsApp. | The past two weeks have been harrowing for families, survivors and anyone involved with the local community. Notifications of funerals circulate almost daily. By the end of this week, 22 women, men, and children will have been buried since the last full council meeting. Many burials included whole families or households, and each day rings out its loss on Facebook or WhatsApp. |
| Some people will have heard of the funeral of Rania Ibrahim and her two daughters, Fethia and Hania, as it was Rania who bravely broadcast from the tower as smoke filled her property. But you may not have heard of Zainab and Jeremiah; of Hesham Rahman, who sheltered in Rania’s home on the 23rd floor; of Hashim Kedir and family – his wife Nura, children Yaqub, Firdaws and Yahya. You may not have heard of the funeral of Amna, Amal and little Amaya; of Birkti and her son Biruk; of Denis, of the El Wahabi family, who will be buried on Thursday. They are Abdulaziz, Faouzia Rami, Yasin, Nur Huda, and Mehdi. Of all these people, 11 were children; the youngest was two years old. | Some people will have heard of the funeral of Rania Ibrahim and her two daughters, Fethia and Hania, as it was Rania who bravely broadcast from the tower as smoke filled her property. But you may not have heard of Zainab and Jeremiah; of Hesham Rahman, who sheltered in Rania’s home on the 23rd floor; of Hashim Kedir and family – his wife Nura, children Yaqub, Firdaws and Yahya. You may not have heard of the funeral of Amna, Amal and little Amaya; of Birkti and her son Biruk; of Denis, of the El Wahabi family, who will be buried on Thursday. They are Abdulaziz, Faouzia Rami, Yasin, Nur Huda, and Mehdi. Of all these people, 11 were children; the youngest was two years old. |
| “The number of children who have died makes these losses especially bitter,” said Yvette Williams of the Justice 4 Grenfell campaign. “These were the next generation of the community, people at the beginning of their lives who had everything to live for.” | “The number of children who have died makes these losses especially bitter,” said Yvette Williams of the Justice 4 Grenfell campaign. “These were the next generation of the community, people at the beginning of their lives who had everything to live for.” |
| How does a community rebuild after an incident like Grenfell? How can the voices of those who have survived truly be heard? How can local politics, and local services – designed as they are to cope with the known, and the mundane – evolve and change to meet the needs of the communities that are still so badly affected? | How does a community rebuild after an incident like Grenfell? How can the voices of those who have survived truly be heard? How can local politics, and local services – designed as they are to cope with the known, and the mundane – evolve and change to meet the needs of the communities that are still so badly affected? |
| The first Grenfell recovery scrutiny committee meeting, held on Tuesday in the Methodist church on Lancaster Road, attempted to give time and space to some of the most pressing issues facing survivors and the local community. Four months on, only 10 households have been rehomed. News of an extended immigration amnesty providing a route of settlement for survivors whose immigration status is irregular has been broadly welcomed – but there are significant issues with a policy that will see survivors being guaranteed one year’s leave, but having to apply at the end of that for a possible further two years, and then another two years’ leave. | The first Grenfell recovery scrutiny committee meeting, held on Tuesday in the Methodist church on Lancaster Road, attempted to give time and space to some of the most pressing issues facing survivors and the local community. Four months on, only 10 households have been rehomed. News of an extended immigration amnesty providing a route of settlement for survivors whose immigration status is irregular has been broadly welcomed – but there are significant issues with a policy that will see survivors being guaranteed one year’s leave, but having to apply at the end of that for a possible further two years, and then another two years’ leave. |
| For many, this policy will not go far enough. How can you rebuild a life when you are trapped in a five-year cycle of immigration applications without any guarantee that you will finally be able to settle in the country you call home? | For many, this policy will not go far enough. How can you rebuild a life when you are trapped in a five-year cycle of immigration applications without any guarantee that you will finally be able to settle in the country you call home? |
| “It has to be a full amnesty for adults and also their children,” said Williams. “These survivors should not be penalised any further. We’re not talking about huge numbers of people. It’s a myth that there were huge numbers of undocumented people living in Grenfell Tower.” | “It has to be a full amnesty for adults and also their children,” said Williams. “These survivors should not be penalised any further. We’re not talking about huge numbers of people. It’s a myth that there were huge numbers of undocumented people living in Grenfell Tower.” |
| “The least they could do,” said Williams, “is to offer these people some stability for the future and treat them with dignity and humanity.” | “The least they could do,” said Williams, “is to offer these people some stability for the future and treat them with dignity and humanity.” |
| We come back to the idea of humanity time and time again with Grenfell, because while undocumented survivors are fighting for their rights, the community is continuing its struggle on a local level. | We come back to the idea of humanity time and time again with Grenfell, because while undocumented survivors are fighting for their rights, the community is continuing its struggle on a local level. |
| At Tuesday’s meeting, community members and volunteers repeated many of the same concerns that they have been voicing for the past four months. Housing for survivors and the displaced continues to be the most important problem, but there were also issues around access to information, proper safeguarding, the variable quality of key workers, and delays in payment of subsistence allowances. | At Tuesday’s meeting, community members and volunteers repeated many of the same concerns that they have been voicing for the past four months. Housing for survivors and the displaced continues to be the most important problem, but there were also issues around access to information, proper safeguarding, the variable quality of key workers, and delays in payment of subsistence allowances. |
| The committee appointed two members of the community to serve: Joe Delaney, from the Lancaster West Estate, and Abdurahman Sayed, CEO of the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, and full voting rights were requested by members of Grenfell United. It is essential that these are given, as without voting rights there will be no trust. It is no small thing, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, to be able to meet democratically elected councillors as equals. It should be the very minimum you could expect. Here, in this traditional borough, it is radical. | The committee appointed two members of the community to serve: Joe Delaney, from the Lancaster West Estate, and Abdurahman Sayed, CEO of the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, and full voting rights were requested by members of Grenfell United. It is essential that these are given, as without voting rights there will be no trust. It is no small thing, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, to be able to meet democratically elected councillors as equals. It should be the very minimum you could expect. Here, in this traditional borough, it is radical. |
| We heard of a feeling that the council should be in special measures, and that the government should take on a bigger role. We heard concerns about whether RBKC had the capacity to manage the response. We heard that many survivors are still confused about how to access funds that have been set aside. Many were uncomfortable using facilities at The Curve, a centre set up in the immediate aftermath of the fire to provide essential services. Perhaps still the most concerning aspect is the lack of safeguarding. Volunteers and survivors have requested this, and the council and committee need to get to grips with it straight away. The message from the meeting, overall, was one of cautious optimism. “It was the first meeting I’ve been to,” said one man who attended, “that was actually quite constructive. They had done their homework. It was a step in the right direction.” It was clear that several members of the committee were taking the duty to scrutinise and listen seriously. After the meeting, councillor Robert Thompson said: “I am hopeful that people will see that the scrutiny function can operate to effect positive change and actions and to make the recovery better for survivors.” | We heard of a feeling that the council should be in special measures, and that the government should take on a bigger role. We heard concerns about whether RBKC had the capacity to manage the response. We heard that many survivors are still confused about how to access funds that have been set aside. Many were uncomfortable using facilities at The Curve, a centre set up in the immediate aftermath of the fire to provide essential services. Perhaps still the most concerning aspect is the lack of safeguarding. Volunteers and survivors have requested this, and the council and committee need to get to grips with it straight away. The message from the meeting, overall, was one of cautious optimism. “It was the first meeting I’ve been to,” said one man who attended, “that was actually quite constructive. They had done their homework. It was a step in the right direction.” It was clear that several members of the committee were taking the duty to scrutinise and listen seriously. After the meeting, councillor Robert Thompson said: “I am hopeful that people will see that the scrutiny function can operate to effect positive change and actions and to make the recovery better for survivors.” |
| And in the middle of all this, there were concerns about the future of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation and who will manage the council’s housing stock and residents’ homes. TMO members will be asked at an AGM next week to vote for the articles of association to be changed so that the council can become the sole member. There are concerns from residents about agreeing to do that when they do not know what will be put in place – will they be passed to a housing association to manage? There are serious worries that residents have not been given enough information by KCTMO to make an informed choice. | And in the middle of all this, there were concerns about the future of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation and who will manage the council’s housing stock and residents’ homes. TMO members will be asked at an AGM next week to vote for the articles of association to be changed so that the council can become the sole member. There are concerns from residents about agreeing to do that when they do not know what will be put in place – will they be passed to a housing association to manage? There are serious worries that residents have not been given enough information by KCTMO to make an informed choice. |
| The communities affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower do not have time to waste | The communities affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower do not have time to waste |
| “The TMO was bad,” one resident who didn’t want to be named told me, “but a housing association could be worse.” Barry Quirk, the interim chief executive of the borough, stated that he was currently hiring an experienced housing manager, with the implication that management of the council’s housing stock would be brought back in house. How do you wind up an organisation in which its members need to vote for it to be disbanded? The TMO’s AGM on Monday will try to do precisely this. The key thing, he said, was that its members will need to agree. | “The TMO was bad,” one resident who didn’t want to be named told me, “but a housing association could be worse.” Barry Quirk, the interim chief executive of the borough, stated that he was currently hiring an experienced housing manager, with the implication that management of the council’s housing stock would be brought back in house. How do you wind up an organisation in which its members need to vote for it to be disbanded? The TMO’s AGM on Monday will try to do precisely this. The key thing, he said, was that its members will need to agree. |
| Is the council now listening? The establishment of this committee seems to be a step in the right direction. But that panel needs to have clear outcomes. The committee needs to be able to change policies that aren’t working, and to have proper safeguarding policies in place. It needs to be clear what the measures are, and how and when they’re going to achieve them. And they need to pick up the pace. | Is the council now listening? The establishment of this committee seems to be a step in the right direction. But that panel needs to have clear outcomes. The committee needs to be able to change policies that aren’t working, and to have proper safeguarding policies in place. It needs to be clear what the measures are, and how and when they’re going to achieve them. And they need to pick up the pace. |
| Absence. Loss. Recovery. It is important to remember who all these meetings are for. It is important to remember the link between a committee and public safety, and the hopes and fears of the wider community around Grenfell Tower. | Absence. Loss. Recovery. It is important to remember who all these meetings are for. It is important to remember the link between a committee and public safety, and the hopes and fears of the wider community around Grenfell Tower. |
| The task here is to rebuild lives. The communities affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower do not have time to waste. Their children are growing up in hotels in the shadow of the tower. What’s at stake is how well and how quickly services – and homes – are being provided to survivors, displaced families and those in the local community. As one local resident and campaigner has said: “We don’t have a generation. We can’t let you gamble on our future.” | The task here is to rebuild lives. The communities affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower do not have time to waste. Their children are growing up in hotels in the shadow of the tower. What’s at stake is how well and how quickly services – and homes – are being provided to survivors, displaced families and those in the local community. As one local resident and campaigner has said: “We don’t have a generation. We can’t let you gamble on our future.” |
| • Seraphima Kennedy is a writer and academic researcher. She is a former neighbourhood officer at KCTMO. The fee for this piece will be donated to the Hashim Family Legacy fund set up by Solidarity Sports | • Seraphima Kennedy is a writer and academic researcher. She is a former neighbourhood officer at KCTMO. The fee for this piece will be donated to the Hashim Family Legacy fund set up by Solidarity Sports |
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