Last Tuesday, I spoke at the Grenfell inquiry about my uncle, Hesham Rahman, and it was extremely hard. I have no problems speaking in public, but the weekend before the inquiry started was tough for my family. My uncle lived on the top floor of the Grenfell Tower, in flat 204; we waited three months for his identification and he was laid to rest at the end of September.
Since then, alongside other bereaved relatives and survivors, I have been campaigning – although I’m not sure that is the right word – to have more people on the inquiry panel. We all felt very strongly that this is too big to be overseen by just one person. Previous inquiries when a single life has been lost – Stephen Lawrence, for example – have had additional panel members, so we didn’t think we were asking for much. We almost felt we were doing them a favour, because confidence in the inquiry was non-existent at that point. Now that is starting to be rebuilt.
This has taken a lot out of us: six months of campaigning when we should have been grieving with our families. And we’re still talking about other issues, such as when the new panel members will be appointed and when all the survivors will be rehomed.
But so far, I think the inquiry is going OK. It has allowed families to take their time, there was no limit; it has allowed people to share a tribute in any shape or form, and some of the tributes last week were absolutely beautiful.
However, I was very mindful about censorship, as the inquiry asked for transcripts of what the families and survivors were going to say beforehand. Some families were asked to change certain words and sentences – to avoid naming companies or for being too political or straying too far from tributes to our loved ones.
So what did I do? I went off-script from the transcript I had shared. My point was: why are we having this public inquiry? This is the relatives’ time to talk. I thought they were giving us the right to pay tribute, not controlling what we would say. Our families have been torn apart for ever and our lives will never be the same. If someone wants to stand up there and say that we were failed and neglected, then that is their right. The fact is, our relatives are being remembered now because they were left to die.
And let’s be honest: the inquiry is in such early stages but we already know a lot from the media – regarding the failings of the refurbishment, the materials that were used, and how the community was treated before the fire when they were raising concerns. No one is saying anything that isn’t already out there.
Grenfell was a horrific tragedy – that’s why I said what I said. Bernie Richmond (counsel to the inquiry) interrupted me and said they would come to my points in the next phase of the inquiry, but he didn’t stop me. Let’s hope they continue to let the families express themselves in the ways we want and to remind people why we are having this inquiry.
My family lost a very important member, but there are so many other families who lost loved ones. Some families lost many people. Seeing all these tributes and remembering our loved ones gives us all the strength, energy and motivation to continue our fight. The people responsible need to listen to our stories and learn from their mistakes. We will not let them forget.