You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Grenfell family complained about father being housed on 17th floor
A man who lost five immediate family members to the Grenfell Tower fire has said they repeatedly complained his disabled father should not have been living on the 17th floor.
Commemorative portraits to the victims of the fire continued today at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in Kensington.
Mohammed Hakim, the only surviving member of his family, shared memories of his mother Rabeya Begum, his father Kamru Miah, and his siblings Mohammed Hamid, Mohammed Hanif and Husna Begum, who lived in flat 142 of the tower.
He said that Mr Miah was largely immobile, having suffered two strokes – and that the family had made “numerous” complaints that he should not have been housed on the 17th floor.
Hakim said he was “extremely proud” of his family for staying together as the fire took hold, even though his brothers and sister may have had a chance to escape.
READ MORE
Mr Miah was “a humble, caring, loving, honest and kind man”, said Mr Hakim, who was devoted to his family and his religion. He came to the UK from Bangladesh in 1963, and spent much of his life working as a chef.
Rabeya Begum had been “a fierce mother protecting her children from all harm”, the inquiry heard. She was a caring, generous and loving mother, Mr Hakim said.
Of his brother Hamid, Mr Hakim said: “The world has lost a magnificent soul, and I have lost a brother who meant the world to me.”
Hanif was said to be “an extremely passionate person” whose “generosity always shone through”. He was an aspiring animator.
Husna Begum, the youngest of the family, was “the epitome of adventure and spirit,” Hakim said. “She marvelled at the universe and had a burning desire to travel.” She was an intellectual with a talent for creative writing. “You were my perfect little baby sister,” her brother said.
He recalled the family going on walks to Holland Park and Battersea Park, where Mr Miah and Rabeya would buy “more ice cream than we could eat”.
After Mr Hakim had read his tributes, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, who is chairing the inquiry, said: “Those were tremendous portraits and I admire your courage.”
The day began with a short statement from the sister of Victoria King, who lived in flat 172 of Grenfell Tower. She said that the two had become separated for much of their lives, and remade contact not long before the fire.
Tributes were also read by members of the Tuccu family, nine of whom appeared on the stage. They were commemorating Mohamednur Tuccu, his wife Amal Ahmedin, and their three-year-old daughter Amaya Tuccu-Ahmedin, as well as Amal’s cousin Amna Mahmud Idris.
Amal’s sister, Winta, broke down as she read her portraits. “Until this day and the rest of my life I will never accept that they are gone”, she said. “I will continue planning Amaya’s life. What she would be doing today, tomorrow, her 10th birthday, her 18th, her 21st and the rest of her life.”
With images of the family showing on the screen, she added that as they were “burned alive”, the three were “holding each other tight trying to squeeze the nightmare away” – just as Amal had done for her when they were children.
More from the Grenfell Inquiry
Holborn Bars, London, where the inquiry sessions are taking place
Here are all our reports from the Grenfell Inquiry so far:
30 May: Grenfell Council 'recognised it should not house disabled victim above four storeys'
29 May: Anger on day six of the Grenfell Inquiry
25 May: Grenfell families 'forced to live in chimney with stay put policy'
24 May: Grenfell family complained about father being housed on 17th floor
23 May: Tributes to children on third day of Grenfell hearings
22 May: Emotions run high as Grenfell bereaved shown footage of the tower burning
The inquiry heard how Amal was “the most caring and loving person you could ever meet”, and an “incredible mother” who spoke five languages.
Mohamednur’s brother, Ibrahim, recounted growing up with him in Eritrea. He had left to become a freedom fighter in Sudan aged 17, but was later forced to flee to Nigeria. After coming to London, he gained a degree in genetics from Queen Mary University and a masters from the University of Westminster. He worked as a security guard and financially supported his family in Eritrea and Saudi Arabia.
A tribute for Amna was read by her husband Ibrahim. “She was all my life,” he said. She was a keen artist and designer who aspired to make a living from her work, and had moved to the UK just a year before the fire.
The final portrait of the day was dedicated to Fathia Ali Ahmed Elsanosi on behalf of her sister, Hayat. Fathia had been Hayat’s carer during her childhood after she was left disabled in a fire some years earlier.
She lived in flat 206 on the 23rd floor of Grenfell, having moved to the UK from the Sudan as a refugee after suffering harassment from the authorities. She helped run an award-winning school in Kensington and Chelsea, as well as being a dressmaker.
“She felt safe here in London. Because of the way she died, this now feels like an illusion,” Hayat’s statement read. “Our trust in this country has been destroyed.”
The commemorative hearings will now continue until Wednesday next week, closing with Nabil Choucair.
Never Again campaign
In the days following the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017, Inside Housing launched the Never Again campaign to call for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
One year on, we have extended the campaign asks in the light of information that has emerged since.
Here are our updated asks:
GOVERNMENT
- Act on the recommendations from Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations to tower blocks of 18m and higher. Commit to producing a timetable for implementation by autumn 2018, setting out how recommendations that don’t require legislative change can be taken forward without delay
- Follow through on commitments to fully ban combustible materials on high-rise buildings
- Unequivocally ban desktop studies
- Review recommendations and advice given to ministers after the Lakanal House fire and implement necessary changes
- Publish details of all tower blocks with dangerous cladding, insulation and/or external panels and commit to a timeline for remedial works. Provide necessary guidance to landlords to ensure that removal work can begin on all affected private and social residential blocks by the end of 2018. Complete quarterly follow-up checks to ensure that remedial work is completed to the required standard. Checks should not cease until all work is completed.
- Stand by the prime minister’s commitment to fully fund the removal of dangerous cladding
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
- Explore options for requiring remedial works on affected private sector residential tower blocks
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Take immediate action to identify privately owned residential tower blocks so that cladding and external panels can be checked
LANDLORDS
- Publish details of the combinations of insulations and cladding materials for all high rise blocks
- Commit to ensuring that removal work begins on all blocks with dangerous materials by the end of 2018 upon receipt of guidance from government
- Publish current fire risk assessments for all high rise blocks (the Information Commissioner has required councils to publish and recommended that housing associations should do the same). Work with peers to share learning from assessments and improve and clarify the risk assessment model.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out. Ensure assessments consider the external features of blocks. Always use an appropriate, qualified expert to conduct assessments.
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in the light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
- Adopt Dame Judith Hackitt’s recommended approach for listening to and addressing tenants’ concerns, with immediate effect
CURRENT SIGNATORIES:
- Chartered Institute of Housing
- G15
- National Federation of ALMOs
- National Housing Federation
- Placeshapers
