Grenfell anniversary: Bishop of Kensington says tragedy ‘shows Londoners need to find better ways to live side-by-side’ as community attempts to heal one year on from fire

'Grenfell holds a mirror up to our society and we need to be prepared to look into it'.
Support: Mourners hug in the shadow of the tower block
Getty Images
Chloe Chaplain14 June 2018

The Bishop of Kensington, Reverend Graham Tomlin, first found out about the horror unfolding in his borough when he awoke early on June 14 to a text from a local radio show asking for a “comment on the fire”.

“I didn’t know what they were talking about,” he said. “But then, of course, I looked on Twitter and realised pretty quickly that this was a big deal. So I gathered members of my clergy and headed down to the base of the tower.”

The hours that followed, he said, were filled with scenes of “chaos" and bewilderment.

After offering support to families and firefighters on the ground, he went to St Clement Church, around the corner from the tower, which quickly became a point of contact for victims of the blaze.

Support: The Bishop with the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and emergency services shortly after the fire

“There is something about tragedy that brings people together,” he said. “There was an extraordinary sense in London of ‘what can we do’ and there was a great sense of different faiths coming together, the community really did unite.

But as the days unfolded, and the death toll rose, Rev. Tomlin said the sense of bewilderment was replaced by anger.

The community – grieving for its loss in the spotlight of the world’s media – expressed anger at the government and local councillors, blamed for not prioritising housing in this area - the poorer north of the borough.

Silent march: A moving tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster in the days after the blaze
AFP/Getty Images

“As time goes on the strain and trauma comes back and it turns into something more fractured,” the Bishop said.

“But anger is something you cannot live with for too long - it needs to be channelled into something.”

Rev. Tomlin, who has held the position of the Bishop for three years, said he hopes that the unity seen in the aftermath of the fire is something Londoners are able to learn from for the future.

Donations: Volunteers helping at St Clement Church, which became a focal point for the community

“It is not always about looking backwards but instead looking forwards to see if we can find a better way of living side by side in London.

“After the fire we saw people reach out to their neighbours and forget about their own needs, this needs to be the way we live all the time in cities like London. I am Christian so of course I am hopeful this can happen - Christianity is about hope. ”

Indeed within hours after the fire, local areas were inundated with donations and volunteers and, within days, the traumatised community was able to find within itself the strength to form support groups for families.

One of the campaigns that that quickly rallied was Justice for Grenfell, a group of locals committed to pushing for inquiries and investigations into the wider cause of the blaze.

Justice4Grenfell slams progress with powerful billboard campaign

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Its spokeswoman, local teacher and artist Moyra Samuels, said the strength and unity seen in the aftermath of the fire has not faded a year on because, she believes, it is integral to the identity of this part of London.

“I think there is something very particular about this community,” she said. “Actually there was quite a strong sense of community before the fire.

When footage of the burning building was shown to the inquiry, people watching broke down and fled from the room.

“Because of our history - the fact that actually we host [Notting Hill] carnival - we effectively open our area, our community, our doors to almost two million people. It shows something about the kind of community we are.”

She acknowledged, however, that the last 12 months has taken its toll on the area.

J4G: Moyra Samuels, left, with Nicole Belfon, Yvette Williams & Judy Bolton of the Justice for Grenfell campaign group

“It’s been long, we are a bit battle-weary, we are tired,” she said. “But at the same time we have all got a place where we are a lot stronger and determined to get to the truth.

“As a society Grenfell has held a mirror up and we need to look in that mirror. Not averting our gaze but looking squarely in the mirror to what our society has become and that is going to be uncomfortable.”

The community is taking steps to heal but the trauma is still incredibly raw. When footage of the burning building was shown, without warning, to the inquiry in May, people watching broke down and fled from the room – some suffering panic attacks and one collapsing.

Tributes have at the tower one year on
Jeremy Selwyn

Both Rev. Tomlin and Ms Samuels said they were apprehensive about the press interest surrounding the anniversary, particularly in light of the response by residents attending the inquiry.

Rev. Tomlin said: “The inquiry is very important but for many people who are just beginning to put their lives back together this is bringing it all back. People talk about it taking five years to overcome a trauma so really one year is not very long.”

He added that, in the build up to the inquiry, the “initial anger” in a lot of people has “slowly changed into something more like determination to get to the bottom of what happened”.

A sign criticising the Prime Minister at the scene of the blaze
Alex Lentati

Ms Samuels agreed, saying that, despite the sadness, the community remained determined, to “reveal the truth” for the families involved "because they deserve that".

"We want to see that justice is actually done and seen to be done and we will keep really pushing for change," she said. “Because without change, justice doesn’t happen.”

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