{"id":141293,"date":"2018-06-14T18:40:01","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T18:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/grenfell-tower-fire-silent-walk-marks-first-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2018-06-14T18:40:01","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T18:40:01","slug":"grenfell-tower-fire-silent-walk-marks-first-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/grenfell-tower-fire-silent-walk-marks-first-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Grenfell Tower fire: Silent walk marks first anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SilentImage copyright Getty Images <\/figure>\n

Hundreds of people are taking part in a silent walk in honour of the 72 people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire a year ago.<\/p>\n

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is among those marching past the tower in west London.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day a silent procession took place after a memorial service at a nearby church.<\/p>\n

The Bishop of Kensington said people were still "recovering" and seeking answers but there was "positivity". <\/p>\n

Silent walks have taken place in the neighbourhood on the 14th of every month since the fire.<\/p>\n

Media playback is unsupported on your device
Media captionPeople fell silent across the country, including the Queen and Meghan <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A 72-second national silence was also held at midday.<\/p>\n

The silence was observed across the country, including at government buildings, Parliament and by the Queen and the Duchess of Sussex on a visit to Chester, where the monarch wore green in honour of Grenfell victims.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Grenfell Tower fire: Who were the victims?<\/li>\n
  • Global roots of fire victims<\/li>\n
  • 'Grenfell was a symbol of hope'<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The names of the victims were read out at the memorial service at St Helen's Church.<\/p>\n

    Clarrie Mendy, who lost two family members in the fire and organised the service attended by several hundred people, said: "It's a service of healing, community, inclusivity and solidarity, to know we are not alone."<\/p>\n

    Bereaved families were invited to light candles in memory of their loved ones at the church, which had been decked out in green - a colour adopted by survivors and relatives of those who died.<\/p>\n

    Image copyright Getty Images <\/figure>\n

    There were green ribbons tied around pillars, scarves on seats and banners were hung for the service, where there was African drumming and Amazing Grace was sung.<\/p>\n

    Addressing the service, Labour MP David Lammy, whose family friend died in the fire, said it was a "bittersweet" moment as the community celebrated their unity but mourned those lost.<\/p>\n

    Image copyright Getty Images
    Image caption MP David Lammy described the service at St Helen's Church as "bittersweet" <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    White doves were released outside the church after the service.<\/p>\n

    Bishop of Kensington Dr Graham Tomlin said there was an atmosphere of "quiet dignity, a sombre mood in the air".<\/p>\n

    Image copyright Getty Images
    Image caption Doves were released outside the service <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Ms Mendy then led the silent procession towards Grenfell Tower, accompanied by other bereaved relatives carrying a large floral display spelling "Humanity for Grenfell".<\/p>\n

    Walking behind were mourners with single white roses and green heart signs reading "strength", "love", "unity", "grace", "just us" and "truth".<\/p>\n

    Image copyright PA
    Image caption Relatives holding banners marched to the tower after the service <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Wreaths were laid by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Duke of Kent during another service close to the base of the tower. <\/p>\n

    Singers Stormzy, Adele and Marcus Mumford, who have been vocal supporters of those affected by the fire, were at the event.<\/p>\n

    Nicholas Burton, whose wife Maria del Pilar Burton died in January and is considered the 72nd victim of the fire, said he chatted with all three singers during the day.<\/p>\n

    He said: "I went into the sports centre and I hear 'Hi Nick' and it's Adele calling me over, who introduced me to her new husband and then Marcus comes over and we had a hug, then Stormzy comes over - they have all been unbelievable.<\/p>\n

    "I was thanking them for all they've done behind the scenes that no-one knows about."<\/p>\n

    Image caption Stormzy joined the mourners for the service at the base of Grenfell Tower <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Ahead of the services, the tower and other London buildings were lit green at 00:54 BST, the time the fire was first reported in a flat on 14 June 2017.<\/p>\n

    Image copyright PA <\/figure>\n

    The victims' names were also read out at 01:30 BST during a vigil at another church in the area - St Clemet's where people fleeing Grenfell Tower had gathered on the night of the fire.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • What's happened to money promised for fire survivors?<\/li>\n
    • 'I was upset but I didn't know how to express it'<\/li>\n
    • BBC London live including Grenfell anniversary coverage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Prime Minister Theresa May wrote on Twitter that she wanted to "pay tribute" to the victims' "family, friends and loved ones for the strength and dignity they have shown".<\/p>\n

      A community still holding its breath<\/h2>\n
      Image copyright Reuters <\/figure>\n

      By BBC reporter Alice Evans, in North Kensington<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Hundreds of people gathered in the shadow of the charred tower block to pay their respects.<\/p>\n

      Young and old, the survivors and bereaved wore bright green scarves to match the green heart that's become the symbol of this community's solidarity and integrity.<\/p>\n

      Many of the fences, bus stops and lampposts displaying the same vibrant ribbons still have tape markings on them - ghostly reminders of the missing person posters that a year ago today were hastily, hopefully being stuck on any free space.<\/p>\n

      At the commemoration event people wept together, clutching each other as each of the 72 victims' names was read out one at a time so that they could be remembered "as individuals, and not merely as numbers".<\/p>\n

      The neighbourhood then led the nation into a silence.<\/p>\n

      Some may welcome this time as a chance for quiet reflection - a peaceful moment in which to pay respects. Here beneath the blackened shell of the tower, it did not feel peaceful though.<\/p>\n

      It was more like a grief-stricken, still-shocked absence of sound as if the community was holding its breath.<\/p>\n

      Image copyright PA
      Image caption London Ambulance Service staff joined people gathering at the foot of Grenfell Tower <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
      Image copyright PA
      Image caption The anniversary was marked at London Fire Brigade's HQ <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
      Image copyright PA
      Image caption The England football team held a minute's silence in Russia <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      The tower was recently covered in white sheeting with a large green heart featured on all four sides at the top of the block. <\/p>\n

      The heart symbol was created by the Grenfell Speaks campaign group to symbolise hope and unity after the fire.<\/p>\n

      Image copyright Getty Images
      Image caption Wreaths were also laid at a memorial at the base of the tower <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Natasha Elcock, who was one of the last residents to be rescued from the tower and is now a member of the survivor group Grenfell United, has praised the community's response to the fire. <\/p>\n

      Media playback is unsupported on your device
      Media captionThe BBC's Andrew Bomford hears from children affected by the Grenfell fire who are having therapy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "We could have been the most angry community out there because of what happened, but we've chosen to be dignified, be calm.<\/p>\n

      "Ultimately, that's earned us respect."<\/p>\n

      Media playback is unsupported on your device
      Media captionMohammed and Zahra used to live in Grenfell Tower, but home has been a hotel room for the past year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Ahead of anniversary events, fires broke out at two high-rise blocks in Glasgow and London. <\/p>\n

      Eight people were rescued from a building in Gorbals area of Glasgow, while the blaze in a 20-storey block in Lewisham led to 150 residents being evacuated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Image copyright Getty Images Hundreds of people are taking part in a silent walk in honour of the 72 people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire a year ago. Labour<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}