On Dec. 14, thousands of residents in the London community of Kensington took to the streets to commemorate the lives lost in the June 14 Grenfell Tower fire.
Since the fire broke out in the 24-story public housing block on June 14, killing some 71 people, community members have marched in silence on the 14th of every month to remember the victims and demand action on the issues that led to the blaze.
“A couple of days after the fire we organized out first march,” said Tasha Brade with the Justice4Grenfell campaign, which organized the march. “It was a time for the community to come together to recognize that there had been this huge loss and to unify.”
According to Brade, the first march included 100 people, which grew to 1,500 by the fifth march on Nov. 14, and to 2,500 by the most recent march on Dec. 14.
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The campaign is headed by Yvette Williams, Judy Bolton and Moyra Samuels. All three are members of the Kensington community while Bolton and Williams actually witnessed the fire on June 14.
The Justice4Grenfell campaign involves several key objectives beyond honouring the lives of the people lost in the fire.
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The group aims to organize information about legal rights and emotional support for those directly affected by the tragedy and try to hold authorities responsible for failing to provide safe homes and a “lack of proper and effective response prior to and after the disaster.”
It also hopes to ensure the community is consulted during recoveries and inquiries to avoid similar events from happening in the future.
According to Brade, an unsatisfactory response by public government officials to the loss prompted the community to rally together.
“This is bigger than just Grenfell tower. Of course, we want justice for every single person who lost their lives in the tower. We want justice for every person who was made involuntarily homeless,” Brade said.
The Grenfell Tower fire began in a refrigerator before racing through the entire building.
A probe revealed that over 600 high-rise buildings had similar cladding to that which was used in Grenfell Tower. Furthermore, after conducting fire safety tests on these residences, 82 were found to have breached regulations. A government-ordered inquiry was launched shortly after.
Since the fire took place, several questions have been raised about the safety standards of the buildings in the area, and Justice4Grenfell has been one of several groups pushing for a response in the aftermath of the tragedy.
One specific initiative the group is pushing for include the creation of a decision-making panel to address building safety and social housing, which Brade notes should reflect the diversity of the community, and include members that have an expertise in federal housing.
Brade adds that the marches will continue indefinitely ‘until we find some form of peace or justice.”
“I am entirely 100 per cent positive that the march will continue because you’ve now angered a lot of people,” Brade concluded.
She states that until the community and those affected by the fire at Grenfell are satisfied that their concerns have been addressed, they will continue to come together on the 14th of every month to march through the streets in silence.
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