Pain, Perseverance and Participation: Coming To Terms With Grenfell
It has been six months since the tragedy at Grenfell. We spoke with Rayla Javaid, a member of BME Lawyers4Grenfell, about the last six months, the importance of diverse participation in the public inquiry, and their crowdfunded challenge to ensure inclusion.
How have survivors of Grenfell whom you’ve spoken with fared since the tragedy?
The residents have, understandably, found it very difficult to come to terms with what has happened. There are many residents that have yet to engage with the services available. The Government needs to ensure that all residents and their families are assisted as they will need the support of the community services for many months to come.
We are aware that only a small number of survivors have been re-housed leaving many still in emergency accommodation. They are traumatised. It is imperative that the residents are housed as soon as possible so that they can begin to rebuild their lives.
The mental health and well-being of the residents is also of considerable concern. The delay in the provision of support by the Conservative Government in the days following the tragedy was appalling. There are a number of survivors who have been hospitalised as a result of the mental trauma suffered. The residents needed to know support was available and it appeared to many of us working with the residents that the local Council did not know how to deal with the tragedy in its aftermath.
Why is it important that black and minority lawyers are represented in the inquiry?
BME Lawyers4Grenfell formed in the wake of the Grenfell fire on 14th June 2017. We came together so that we can use our experience to help residents at Grenfell to ensure that the Inquiry deals with their concerns. Following the fire on 14th June, this year, we have been on the ground listening to the residents, engaging with groups, attending meetings including the three consultation meetings held by Sir Martin Moore Bick, Chair of the Inquiry.
The residents have called for a Panel that is reflective of the diverse community that is the makeup of the former residents of Grenfell tower. We have been seeking diverse representation on the Panel and the Assessment Panel from the outset. This concern has been repeated many times, before the start of the Inquiry and we can now see that the same concerns are being raised by the residents through their legal representatives. The lawyers representing the families repeated these concerns during the Procedural Hearing on 11th and 12th December at Holborn Bars.
BME Lawyers4Grenfell is made up of organisations that have experience of working with communities for over 30 years. The group includes Society of Black Lawyers, Society of Asian Lawyers, Association of Muslim Lawyers, Shivani Jegarajah of Justitia Chambers who specialises in Judicial Reviews, Blaksox, Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC) UK and Operation Black Vote (OBV). We are the only organisation that includes lawyers working on the ground on a pro bono basis with residents to highlight the concerns of the whole community.
We called for a diverse panel and a diverse panel of assessors prior to the start of the Inquiry. We also provided the Inquiry a long list of BME Experts, specialising in housing, fire risk and assessment, immigration, mental health, building structures and social housing to the Inquiry. We are only aware of one expert having been selected from the list of Experts. This Inquiry will only be a success if the concerns of the residents are addressed.
During the Procedural Hearing on the 12th December, Leslie Thomas QC said it well, when he said:
“Does this inquiry pass the smell test? What is the smell test on an inquiry such as this?
“I’ve already said, look at the suits. I’ve already said look at the victim core participants. I’ve asked you to take a long hard look at your panel, your assessors, your team.
“Ask yourself does it pass the smell test? Because that relates to perception … public perception… do they understand us, do they speak our language? Do they know anything about social housing?
“How many have lived in a tower block, or a council estate, or in social housing? That affects confidence.
“Confidence — or lack of it — affects participation. And a lack of participation from the people that matter will affect justice. And a lack of justice is injustice.”
What are you doing to try to gain some more representation? What’s the latest news (or next steps in) your judicial review?
BME Lawyers4Grenfell filed their Judicial Review following the decision to refuse our Application for Core Participant status on the 12th October 2017. We are currently awaiting the decision as to whether the Administrative Court will grant permission for us to proceed with the Judicial Review.
We launched our campaign to raise funds on 16th November with the support of Crowd Justice to challenge the decision by Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s refusal to grant Core Participation status. Since we launched our campaign we have been approached by several other individuals and groups who were refused Core Participant status and want to join our legal action.
How does the EHRC inquiry, announced this week, affect your case?
On 11th December, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced that they will be launching their own inquiry into the fire. The ECHR have stated that they do not intend to repeat the work of the Grenfell Inquiry. They will consider the human rights aspects and equality dimensions of the tragedy, and whether the State fulfilled its duties under human rights and equality law. The EHRC intend to focus on 7 areas: the duty to investigate, the right to life, inhumane and degrading treatment, adequate housing, access to justice, rights of children and equality.
We welcome the EHRC’s announcement as it will be an independent voice rather than Theresa May’s appointed Chair conducting an investigation into the fire which many believe were due to the cuts to services. We are all aware that Kensington and Chelsea is the wealthiest Borough in the country and a fire of this magnitude should not have occurred in this country let alone in this Borough. It is clear the recommendations that were made following the fire in Lakanal House in Southwark were not followed, where 6 people died. We need to know why.
The EHRC Inquiry does not affect our case. We are here to ensure that the concerns of the community as a whole are considered by the Grenfell Inquiry. We have been on the ground listening to residents and it is important that in order for the Inquiry to be a success, trust needs to be built with the residents to ensure that the residents do not reject the outcome. The Inquiry can only do this by ensuring that the Panel and the Panel of Assessors are representative of the residents of the Grenfell community.
Who is providing support to the survivors?
There are a number of organisations on the ground working with the residents. In the aftermath of the tragedy, it was the local community groups and organisations that came together to help the residents. It was these groups that provided the support and showed the resilience of the local community.
We do not believe that the situation on the ground has changed much, from the feedback that we have received from residents. It is only when the residents are housed can we be certain that the families are being fully supported.
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Rayla Javaid is a solicitor at the Royal Courts of Justice Advice Bureau and a member of BME Lawyers4Grenfell. Support their crowdfunded case here.
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CrowdJustice is the world’s platform for raising funds for and awareness of legal cases. Start a case here.
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Photo Credit: Flickr User ChiralJon
