Two years ago, 14 June 2017, I woke up for work expecting it to be a normal day. I looked at my phone to see a BBC news broadcast about Grenfell fire. I usually woke up at 5 am.
Two years ago today my mother and I, both with very little and disabilities, went down to the fire which is 3 minutes away by car or bus but too far for us to walk. We had loaded the car up with homemade blankets, fans, jumpers, food, drink and anything we knew we could do without. We went round to as many pop up centers as we could find and donated what we had brought to the efforts that were underway for them.
The Christian Center
The Westway
St Clements church
All three places were on our stop tour.
We sat with victims and prayed with them, helped them get food, sorted out the donations till I was physically unable to cope any more and was a blubbering wreck. AT that moment no one cared about religion, gender, ethnicity, age, politics, the social economic background we just came together. There were Christians in mosques and Muslims in churches and no one cared.
Businesses were giving away food and doctors and nurses and pharmacies were looking after people with needs so that they could keep the nonurgent cases out of the emergency rooms.
The only thing that we wanted was to make sure that we all got through that horrific day. Firefighters were even working double shifts and many have suffered PTSD from that day.
Because of this fire people have been displaced and the pain of that day lingers on every day. For 6 months I had nightmares every night. I got so tired that I was falling asleep everywhere.
So today I ask that you do something kind for someone in memory of those who did not make it out of that death trap, for the firefighters who suffer for what they saw and for the volunteers who bravely did whatever they could to help the community out. Don’t put it off till tomorrow because the lesson we learned the hard way here in North Kensington is that tomorrow is never guaranteed. So don’t put off till tomorrow something you can do today. Tell your parents, children, relatives of any kind that you love them. Live good lives and most importantly do not take your life for granted…
