In the warm sunshine of June, reminiscent of the day that dawned on the burning tower on June 14, 2017, hundreds of family members gathered at the abbey to mark the passage of a period during which there was strong community solidarity and growing anger for its response. government and the lack of criminal prosecution. The day culminated in a multi-religious ceremony at the base of the Tower of West London, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge laid a wreath and the children who survived the fire released 18 balloons – one for each of the missing children. After the service, there was a silent march in the surrounding streets. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Upgrading, Housing and Communities; Theresa May, Prime Minister of the Fire Department; Sadiq Kahn; Mayor of London; occupied the square, was in the abbey as the names of the dead were read by religious leaders – a process that took almost eight and a half minutes. The surname Choucair resonated in the historic domes of the abbey six times, the number of members of a family who were lost. Also in attendance were Sir Martin Moore-Bick, director of public disaster investigation, and broadcaster Jon Snow, who said from the podium that “Grenfell is talking about the ridiculous inequality that divides our society.” He said that if the political rhetoric to reduce inequality means anything, “those responsible must be brought to justice.” A member of the public holds a white rose during the memorial service. Photo: WPA / Getty Images The congregation applauded after Imran Khan, a lawyer working for some of the families in the investigation, said the assembled officials were welcome at the memorial service this year, but the investigation’s revelations about what caused the fire left them with no excuse not to. do justice. “If you do nothing in the next 365 days before the next anniversary, I’m sorry to say, you will not be welcomed then,” he said. Church members were Anne Murphy, who lost her brother Denis Murphy. She said her family was in a “vacuum” awaiting criminal prosecution, which is unlikely until 2024 as a public inquiry reports its findings in 2023. “Justice is what keeps us together,” Murphy said. There was also Sadiq Jamal, who came to the United Kingdom after losing his sister, brother-in-law and their three children in the fire. “There is no justice,” he said. “We came from Ethiopia because we lost our whole family. We do not see such things happening in other parts of the world. Some of the [government ministers] “Apologize, but it means nothing without justice.” The service included music played on an oud by Richard Azar and the church sang Abide With Me by Henry Light. Grenfell community members and religious leaders laid white roses at the abbey memorial to the innocent victims. Grenfell United, the group of survivors and mourners, said the disaster was “still as painful now as it was then” and warned: “Five years later, another Grenfell is still a very real possibility. “This government should be ashamed of the complete lack of action and the continued carelessness of the 72 lives that were lost so unnecessarily.” In a report on the survey, which heard how material manufacturers took advantage of weaknesses in national safety tests and building regulations to sell flammable materials for high-rise towers, he said: “It’s hard to go on every day for “listen to how corrupt and rotten the system is.” “I often describe it as having an open wound,” says Grenfell victim’s daughter – video He also referred to a statement in the April investigation of Eric Pickles, the former secretary of communities who failed to tighten fire regulations despite being told to do so by a medical examiner after six people died in a fire in 2009. .96 without a name “who died, apparently confusing the catastrophe with the Hillsborough tragedy. “Those in power called them ‘anonymous,’” Grenfell United said. “They were not anonymous. They were precious, loved and ours. “ “The Grenfell Tower tragedy must never be allowed to happen again and our thoughts are with the families of the bereaved, the survivors and the residents at this incredibly difficult time,” Gove said.
