BLOG 1 Young People and Political Engagement

5 YEARS AND STILL NO ANSWERS?

 

17 buildings in London STILL have the same deadly cladding used on Grenfell Tower. How many innocent lives will be taken before matters are taken seriously?

 

For too long, crimes committed by those in power have been ignored. The time for action is NOW!

 

As someone who lived in the shadow of Grenfell Tower as well as experiencing somewhat of a similar tragedy myself (years later), I feel it is important to speak up on the issue of coming from a disadvantaged social background whilst living within the richest borough of London and shed light on the actions of the youth following this disaster. Protests, marches, campaigns, a push to vote the current government out and have members of the council dismissed are all examples of political engagement by the youth. Five years later and we are still marching and campaigning, does this mean political engagement rises when tragedy is closer to home?

Telegraph (2017)

The Guardian (2019)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Problem At Hand: 

The issue of housing regulation and safety standards in council houses has long been a pressing matter that has remained unsolved and has not reached a satisfactory standard even following the Grenfell Tower disaster of 2017. The widespread impact on mental health to the survivors and those in the surrounding areas will be felt for years to come. It is startling that a crime on this scale took place in the wealthiest borough of one of the most powerful capitals in the world. This just proves that wealth and power overweigh human lives even in a first world country.

The remains of what used to be a family household.

Here is some context for you!

Grenfell tower was a residential block situated in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea home to mostly immigrants and large families. A tragic fire broke out and 72 lives were claimed during this fire and this was down to ‘the pursuit of money’ (Guardian, 2017). The tower had been recently renovated with a cheap cladding that  turned the tower into a huge fire safety hazard (RBKC, 2019). The safeguards were insufficient to prevent a disaster of this magnitude (QMUL, 2019) and a lack of regard for safety is what made this fire a crime and not a fatal accident. Different treatment is given to immigrant families and those with little power – had these families been from a wealthy background that held an elite status, would they have been taken seriously?

No Justice No Peace (2020)

We have this idea of the UK as a high ethical standard nation but, a crime has been committed and lives have been taken and charges are yet to be levied to those responsible. Can we really state ourselves as ethical?  The physical evidence is clear, how can there still be no justice for this tragedy?

The facts

  • Various reports and statistics prove that those in the tower were disadvantaged and were part of immigrant families, BAME groups and overall, lacked power and authority.
  • 19 of the survivors were immigrants (gov.co.uk) who had come to London in search of a secure life and instead were met with the atrocious and negligent Kensington council and UK government.

Did you know? 

The first on the scene were the community of North Kensington, not the council. Thousands of donations of spare clothes and necessities came pouring in.  Why is it up to the community  to rely on themselves and receive no external support? This links to the Global citizenship model whereby there should be a cosmopolitan sense of belonging to a global community, a common humanity. The youth wanted to press these matters and question them! It is important to note that those directly impacted were young children who had lost their friends, it was a confusing and upsetting time so anger and frustration was inevitable.

Donations from the community

 

Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Centre which has played a central role in the recover

There was a large Black and ethnic minority presence in Grenfell Tower and its surrounding residential areas in comparison to the rest of Kensington and Chelsea. This begs the question as to why minorities are mistreated and justifies increased political engagement for this cause.

Disasters on the scale of Grenfell leave an indelible mark (rbkc.co.uk, 2020)

 

Economist.com

 

The wealthiest borough in London has a deep divide proving why the disaster was able to occur in the first place. Karl Marx’ theory on capitalism and social mobility states that the elite will always be looked after and make it difficult to shift between social classes. This is often why gentrification occurs in order to deepen this divide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By protesting, the youth aimed to stop the bias in the borough and put an end to minority groups being at a disadvantage compared to their elitist counterparts.

Economist.com, (2011)

Why did this happen?

This ties into London’s Housing Crisis and gentrification issue. Social roles and class have a huge part to play here as Karl Marx’s theory of capitalism and social mobility apply. Karl Marx acknowledges that there could be movement across social classes but, this was extremely limited and this was why Kensington was becoming a place filled with high earning, upper class elites and has such a huge social divide. Younger people will also find it harder to politically engage if the academic facilities for this are not provided to begin with. This leaves the working class at a disadvantage.

My own experience:

Being a victim of a house fire myself, after watching Grenfell burn from beginning to end, I feel I can entirely relate to political engagement surrounding these matters. It was extremely important to me that the council would help us considering many of Grenfell’s survivors had been brushed to the side. I did not want to be a victim of my social background and wanted to ensure that my family would be treated respectfully during this troubling time. Being a daughter to immigrant parents, there was more pressure on me to help communicate our needs to the council following the fire. Considering the fire was caused by young people, it is evident that the youth would benefit from being more politically engaged as it would keep them busy and hopefully, passionate about serious matters. The youth in my neighbourhood would have found this incident triggering as it was the first fire to happen since Grenfell in the area and therefore, the impact was not onefold.

House fire, October 2020

Fire caused by fireworks thrown by young boys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The impact:

It is important to acknowledge how deep the impact of the event has been to residents of the surrounding area and the survivors. The significance of the impact caused on the community is that no one has been held responsible and those involved have denied being at fault. Do those with authority and status not care about these damaging consequences and only care to save reputation, money and business? We must demand answers!

One of many Silent Grenfell Marches as a sign of protest and mourning

Example of a petition for Grenfell

Henry Dickens Community Centre Youth Club for young kids – funding provided following Grenfell enabled more projects to benefit the disadvantaged.

This topic indicates that young people are participating in politics but not necessarily through the traditional means of voting. Various forms of participation are taking over and often, engagement rises when advocating for a particular political agenda that directly impacts a community.

Nonetheless, the tragedy has taught us that the rich and powerful do not prioritize our needs and it is time to push for change.

How you can help and recommendations for action:

  • Attend street protests
  • Send letters to all authoritative figures in the Kensington council
  • Attend virtual meetings to organize activities for young people
  • Petitions against renovations
  • Follow Justice for Grenfell
  • Email justiceforgrenfell@org.uk to get involved

What other ways do you think the youth can engage to help relieve the impact of this disaster? 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

  • Nadj, D. (2019) Available from: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/law/humanrights/media/humanrights/docs/Nadj-final.pdf [accessed: 22nd of February 2022]
  • Griffin, A. (14th June, 2017 ) Block Appearance. Independent. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/grenfell-tower-cladding-fire-causeimprove-kensington-block-flats-appearance-blaze-24-storey-west-london-a7789951.html
    [accessed: 20th of February 2022]
  • Council document. (January, 2020) Grenfell Recovery Strategy. RBKC. Available from: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/committees/Document.ashx?czJKcaeAi5tUFL1DTL2UE4zNRBcoShgo=fEAzj4SPhb2VVzRi98PpmSNewiaH5qjMuMoevfGzdpN9jICPUZx1IQ%3D%3D&rUzMHuCpMRKZMwaG1PaO=ctNJFf55vVA%3D [accessed: 21st of February 2022]
  • Booth, R. (30th Jan, 2020) Grenfell Refurbishment. The Guardian. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/30/grenfell-refurbishment-firms-killed-inpursuit-of-money-inquiry-told [accessed: 22nd of January 2021]
  • Dixon, H. (2017) Grenfell Tower Inferno [Photograph]. Available at:
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/14/grenfell-tower-inferno-disaster-waiting-happenconcerns-raised/ [accessed: 21st of February 2022]
  • Sykes, M. (2019) After the Fire [Photograph] https://www.theguardian.com/uknews/2019/dec/06/too-little-has-been-done-since-the-grenfell-tower-fire [accessed: 21st of February 2022]
  • Minton, Z. (2017) Map of Kensington [Photograph]
    https://www.economist.com/britain/2017/06/24/kensington-and-chelsea-a-wealthy-but-deeplydivided-borough [accessed: 21st of February 2022]
  • Mostrous, A. (2017) Cladding on Tower [Photograph] https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/thetimes/grenfell-tower-criminal-inquiry-to-assess-disputed-cladding/newsstory/a320ed0dba56fa6be31edc5295ca9584 [accessed: 21st of February 2022]
  • Witt Group. (2016) Regeneration Project [Photograph] http://wittukgroup.co.uk/grenfell-towerlondon-w11-1tq-regeneration-project/ [accessed: 21st of February 2022]
  • Pippa, C. (2017) The Tower After [Photograph] https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/londonlife/grenfell-fire-how-a-series-of-catastrophic-mishaps-turned-a-borough-against-kensington-andchelsea-coucil-a3582396.html [accessed: 21st of February 2022]
  • (2020) No Justice No Peace [Youtube video].
    https://www.google.co.uk/urlsa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjC2fn_9b_uAhUhwuYKHWIRCSUQwqsBMAJ6BAgFEAg&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DCK6Pywf18H0&usg=AOvVaw127f9WXuvqDIDUU3HOcnLX [accessed: 21st of February 2022]
  • Simpson, J, Malvern, J. (2017) Grenfell Tower donations [Photograph]
    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/grenfell-tower-donations-hit-3million-8fzsjq9lp [accessed: Simpson, J, Malvern, J. (2017) Grenfell Tower donations [Photograph]
    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/grenfell-tower-donations-hit-3million-8fzsjq9lp [accessed: 28th
    of January 2021]

 

2 Comments

  1. HI Nisha – I love your presentation of this blog, it is really well presented and thought out. Thank you for shedding light on this topic, let’s hope the victims are provided with some answers soon. Thanks again.

  2. Hello, Nisha.
    Your blog was heartfelt, and I adored the layout. Many people are familiar with the topic you chose. I only remember seeing the videos while the fire was happening and also seeing the aftermath of the fire; it was a very sad event, and I recall being shocked that such a large fire could occur in the middle of London. I agree with your points, especially when you mentioned that many of the victims who died in the fire were members of ethnic minorities, and members of the community felt that the council had not done enough to ensure that they were no fire hazards.
    I also recall feeling that the council did not provide much assistance to the family, despite the fact that the victims and members of the community were the ones who came forward to offer provisions and assistance. I would also argue that this is not only a class issue, but it could also be linked to racism, because 67 of the 72 people who died were from the BAME community.

    This is explained further in this BBC article, which I will leave a link to below.
    Futhermore I admire your courage in becoming politically involved in order to fight for the victims, because this is something to which you can relate. Congratulations, and once again, this was a well-written blog.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53320082

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