Grenfell survivors open memorial garden ahead of first anniversary

Survivors and the bereaved of the Grenfell Tower disaster have begun what is expected to be a difficult week of commemorations to mark the first anniversary of the fire by opening a garden of “peace, healing and justice”.

The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, who this weekend attacked Theresa May for the “inhumane” treatment of survivors, joined the housing secretary, James Brokenshire, among the congregation at St Clement’s Church beside the high-rise.

The packed church was addressed by the bishop of Kensington, Rt Rev Dr Graham Tomlin, who predicted that the coming week would bring “harsh memories and vivid reminders of loved ones lost, confusion, grief and the anger of those days last summer and many days since”. He said that a year was not a long time for people to recover, but added that there were signs the healing was beginning.

Survivors have spoken of their worries about coping in the days leading up to Thursday’s anniversary of the fire. NHS support workers were on hand at the service and ceremony on Sunday, in case anyone struggled.

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In his sermon, Tomlin stressed the urgent need for justice, saying it was “vital if restoration and healing are to emerge. Atonement has to be made – the transition from desolation to joy can only come through justice. We trust and pray that justice will be done through the public inquiry and the police investigation.

“Grenfell Tower today stands as a symbol of tragedy, pain and our failure to care for one another. Somehow that building was allowed to get to the stage where a small fire could spread so quickly with the resulting trauma this community has experienced over the last year. The 72 precious lives that were lost as a result.”

‘Good neighbours’

But he urged the congregation to hope and said: “Imagine in 20 years’ time, looking back on Grenfell Tower, it was a trigger for a sea change in the way we looked after each other in our cities, the time that we decided once and for all to provide good-quality, safe, social and affordable housing, that we learned to look out for one another, even to love one another as good neighbours, not just in times of disaster, but as a regular way of life.”

Dedicating the small garden beside the church in west London, Khan said: “The fire last year shone a light on the injustice in our city and country, one of the richest in the world. But it also shone a light on the resilience of this wonderful community.”

He has written to the prime minister to complain about the treatment of the Grenfell community.

“The treatment they have faced over the past year has been, at best, inconsistent and chaotic; and at worst, inhumane,” Khan said, adding that there was a “culture of institutional indifference”.

Referring to campaigns by the bereaved on issues such as better representation for the community at the inquiry, the mayor said on Sunday it was unacceptable that survivors were being forced to be “lobbyists and campaigners when they should be grieving families”.

Silent march

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which he also criticised strongly over its response to the fire, said Khan had never called the leader of the council, Elizabeth Campbell, to offer help and support. But Khan insisted he had written to her and that City Hall was in regular contact with the council.

A difficult and emotional week is to culminate on Thursday evening with a silent march through Kensington followed by a gathering of the bereaved in a local park, where they plan to spend time together and eat, many breaking their Ramadan fast. They have asked the media not to attend.

The public inquiry will not sit this week to give the people of Grenfell an opportunity to engage with the one-year anniversary. When the inquiry resumes, its chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, will be under pressure to justify continuing hearings in Holborn, central London, and not closer to the tower. Khan wrote to him last week urging him to move it closer or risk losing the confidence of the community. The mayor said some people were struggling to attend the venue seven miles from north Kensington and that this was adding unnecessary extra stress to their lives. The survivors group Grenfell United is also urging a change of venue. – Guardian service